Winter's Child
by ReidGarciaFan
Summary: A serial killer preying on women around the mountain at Eagle Lake changes Hawke, Caitlin and Dom's lives forever. Minor crossover in early chapters with Criminal Minds, Gideon and Rossi. Eventual Hawke/Caitlin pairing.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Of course, I don't own Airwolf or any part of it, though I dearly loved the show as a kid and JMV was my first 'crush'. I remember even as a kid I wanted him and Cait to get together. I've always been a romantic. This is all written in fun._

 _Starts out in December 1986 – 36-year-old Hawke & Cait is 28 – Le who comes in later is 10 almost 11 in the story – fudged ages a little bit for my own purposes._

 _There was no season 4. Nope. No Season 4. This takes place during what would have been Season 3 an interlude of a few months between episode 11 and prior to episode 12 Half-Pint which did actually air on TV just before Christmas. It may not be accurate with all episodes. It's fanfic…_

 _The first part of this story has a brief crossover with Criminal Minds, set before BAU in the 80s when it was just the Behavioral Science Unit. Younger David Rossi and Jason Gideon are part of the story. I hadn't intended it but it just happened when I needed FBI agents investigating a serial killer._

 _Note some of the technology discussed in the later part of story is based on real tech that came out in 1986-1987. The first Nintendo did in fact hit the east coast in October 86. A connection machine was a real thing you can learn more about it online, also the graphics and OS discussed are actually ones that came out that could have been the basis of Windows 95 but Microsoft didn't use them at first. It was invented by IBM in 1986-87. So even though I go a bit sci-fi with it, the tech is based in reality._

 _Oh the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant is a real restaurant in Van Nuys near the airport. It was around in the 80s and I kind of figured it was the restaurant featured in the show with Rosalind and Carter Anderson where Cait's boyfriend Robert was the bad guy._

 _Sorry for such long author's note but thought I'd get all the notes out of the way so you can enjoy the story and understand where it came from and what the heck I'm talking about sometimes._ 😊

 **Winter's Child**

"Dom, what the hell do you mean bringing her up here now of all times?" Stringfellow Hawke growled at his friend.

"What? She'll be with you, she'll be safe, it's only single women alone in the woods that lunatic has been going after and it's been months since the last one, plus she could use the rest! I know if she stays in that apartment of hers all weekend she's going to end up doing all sorts of stuff that is NOT resting. She's just getting over pneumonia, String!" Dominic Santini argued. Hawke was his foster son, his friend and his business partner though most didn't realize that Santini Air was as much Hawke's as it was his.

"Hell, Hawke I had to go over and take my own ledgers away from her, because she was still working on them at home instead of taking care of herself. Caitlin needs a break and I figured here was the best place. Besides, that guy hasn't been this far up the mountain, he's been staying around the campsites, ya' know?" Dom didn't exactly like the idea of Hawke even being up here alone right now if he were to be totally honest with himself. It was part of why he wanted to bring Caitlin up here. If they were together, they'd both be safe watching out for each other.

Hawke narrowed his eyes at the older man as if he was trying to figure out if what he was telling him was the whole truth.

"Would you guys stop arguing, it's cold out here and I'm gona end up with a relapse," Caitlin yelled and then coughed heavily from the porch where she'd already marched with her suitcase while Hawke and Dom squared off on the dock.

"Go in the house where it's warm, Cait!" both men yelled at the same time and then laughed.

She pulled a face at them and trudged inside where it was decidedly warmer by the fire. "Fine. Let them sit out there and freeze to death, I'll just curl up with you, Tet," she told the hound as she sat down on the couch in front of the fire. She was asleep in minutes.

"Just take care of our girl for me, String? She really, really needs the rest and…it wouldn't hurt if you spent some time with her and talked, ya' know?" Dom suggested.

"Dom, don't start on that," Hawke warned but Dom shook his head.

"Don't you start giving me lip about it. You know she loves you, you love her…what is the problem? Are you scared because she's your friend or are you scared because this one might actually be the one?" Dom asked knowingly.

"Awww, Hell, Dom." Hawke sighed and shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather bomber jacket. "Why do you keep asking me? I'll…we…that is, Cait and I will talk but not while she's recovering and not when we're in a life-threatening situation either," Hawke said trying to figure out just when one of the three of them wasn't recovering from some accident, illness, or injury and when they weren't on a mission or doing a stunt that could cost any of them their lives.

"If you are trying to wait for the perfect moment, kid, that ain't ever going to happen and you know it," Dom said, suddenly understanding where Hawke was coming from. "And remember what I said about that stupid curse, just coz you ain't told her don't mean that the moment you do the sky's going to fall on her head. You've loved her for two years, you've tried to move on…trust me, you aren't cursed, it's like Meg said, you just need to let those ghosts go. Just talk to her, hey? If not now…soon, before she gives up on your sorry ass," Dom said shaking his finger at him.

Hawke laughed then and nodded. "Yeah…yeah, I don't get why she's has stayed this long."

"Ah, that's what love does…it gives you hope," Dom said with a grin. "But I have to warn you if you don't tell her soon, you're going to lose her, String."

"I know," Hawke said sadly and sighed. "Soon, Dom. For her sake and mine."

"And mine, because if I have to keep watching you two making moon eyes across the hanger any longer I think I'm going to lock you both in the storage closet until you figure something out," Dom warned.

"Moon eyes, Dom?" Hawke asked with a laugh.

"Moon eyes, both of you! Now go take care of our girl, huh?" Dom smiled encouragingly.

"I will, and Dom. I get it now, ya know? I get that I need to finally move forward with my life. I can't keep waiting on something that might never happen. Meg was right I do need to let go, and I've made the decision that I'm going to tell Cait how I feel, I just don't think while she's sick is the best time."

"Awww, String, it's not letting go or giving up, I still firmly believe we'll bring him home one day, Sinjin will be back with us one day, String I know it. But I'm glad you're going to talk to Cait. You know, Sinjin wouldn't want you to put your life on hold waiting on him to come home, ya know? Anyway, I've got to meet Meg for dinner, she wants to bring the class down for a tour at the airport, we were going to discuss bringing them by the hanger and stuff. Bet Cait will love that, huh?" Dom said tapping Hawke on the shoulder.

He smiled. "Yeah, Cait will love that. You know how much she adores kids."

"Yep…you seem to like 'em pretty well too…you know you two would make me a very happy old man if you gave me some grandkids before I die," Dom said with a grin.

"Good, Lord, Dom I haven't even asked her on a proper date yet…"

Dom laughed and shook his head. "Well it isn't like you two need to get to know each other or anything…"

"Go meet, Meg before I throw you off this dock, you old busy body," Hawke said shaking his head.

Dom howled with laughter then and gave Hawke a hug before getting back into his helicopter to head back to town.

Hawke watched as the helicopter moved over the lake and sighed. Dom and Meg were both right, those ghosts had held him back for far too long. Held him back from loving Caitlin the way she deserved. Soon, he hoped to change that.

When Hawke arrived back at the cabin he couldn't help but smile. Caitlin was asleep on the couch with Tet's head resting on her thigh. The dog looked up at him and Hawke just shook his head.

Caitlin was Irish, a true redhead and pale with lots of freckles but now even her freckles seemed pale. She usually had rosy cheeks and a bright smile but she was exhausted, he could tell just from looking at her. The constant coughing from her bout with pneumonia had really worn her out and Hawke hated seeing her so unlike herself. Maybe getting her up here out of the smog will help her cough.

She was such a bright spot in both his and Dom's lives but Dom was right, Caitlin O'Shannessy worked entirely too hard. If he were being honest with himself, Cait could work both him and Dom under the table sometimes. She just would never give up, no matter what she was doing, no matter how hard something was or how scared she was of anything, she pushed herself harder than anyone they knew.

Hawke was stubborn and though Caitlin was too, her stubborn streak was different than his. She had a faith in people that he couldn't possibly bring himself to have and when she set her mind to something, she accomplished it. Where Hawke's stubbornness was often tied to his impulsiveness and could sometimes get him hurt, she always thought things through, she always planned and always had a plan C to go with A and B.

And he loved her with everything he was and was finally at a point where he felt he could admit it, not only to himself, to Dom but to Caitlin herself.

He got a blanket off the back of his favorite chair and draped it over her, placed a whisper of a kiss on her forehead and went to the kitchen to start dinner.

It wasn't long before he heard her start coughing and not much longer before he heard her swear and get up.

"You already take your medicine?" Hawke asked as she walked toward the kitchen still coughing a little.

"Not yet. I was hoping I could just relax a while without knocking myself loopy with that stuff," she said as she settled at the bar. "Whatcha' makin'?"

"Figured you could use some soup, I got some fresh bread from Granny Williams this morning when I went out for a supply run. I bet it would be great with this, it's vegetable, barley soup," he said as he worked at the stove, stirring and adding some spices.

"Oh, that sounds nice. Granny's bread is the best plus the only soup I've had all week came out of a can," she answered and propped her elbow on the bar top and her chin in her hand. "I just couldn't find the energy to cook."

"Dom told me, I didn't even know you'd been that sick until yesterday when I got back from Washington with Michael. He didn't want to worry me and when I talked to you, all you said was you were "a little under the weather" - I'd say you way under sold that," Hawke said fixing her with intense blue eyes.

"Hmm, yeah. I didn't want to worry you either. You and Michael had more than enough to think about than me being down with pneumonia of all things," Caitlin said with a sigh.

"Hey, you know people still occasionally die from it and years ago…" Hawke started.

"I know…I know, Dom lectured me all the way here about resting means resting not doing paperwork or accounting or studying for my exams," she admitted.

"How are the classes going anyway?" Hawke asked as he lowered the flame on the pot to simmer for a little while to let the flavors blend.

Caitlin gave him a smile that lit her eyes up, and Hawke knew then that she really loved the courses. She launched into all she'd learned in the last few weeks he'd been gone.

She'd been taking a Paramedic/EMT course for the last six months so that she could help more when they were in the field. Doc had given her the idea when she had helped so much with a plane crash about eight months ago. A charter had gone down south of Doc's place and he'd called for help with the rescue – the smaller choppers couldn't take the bad weather up on the mountain. Airwolf however had endured hurricanes and even a volcanic eruption. They knew she would make it a rescue not a recovery mission if anyone had survived the crash. The mountain was in a late blizzard and the coldest it'd been in years.

There was nowhere to land Airwolf, so Doc and Cait had went down on ropes with supplies that Dom lowered to them as Hawke fought the winds on the mountain to keep the Lady as steady as he could. Caitlin and Doc had kept the survivors warm, tended their wounds, gave them food and water and set up tents to keep them all together and warm. By the time the storm cleared enough that they could get rescue choppers in, Hawke had been in the lead helicopter and Dom had been in Doc's chopper. They'd managed to get everyone off the mountain who had survived the crash, four hadn't but they'd also gotten their remains back to their families.

"You really seem to like those classes," he said as her talking had caused her to cough again. He gave her a cup of warm tea and she thanked him.

"I do. I never, ever thought I would enjoy it so much. I had some training when I was with Highway Patrol of course, basic stuff and CPR but this is so much more. I'm learning all kinds of very useful stuff, you and Dom should have your own licensed medic on Airwolf in the next year," Caitlin said with a smile.

Hawke laughed. "We sure could use it sometimes."

"Hmm, yeah, when the holiday break is over I'll be hitting the books again," Caitlin agreed thinking of the times training like that would have come in handy in the past.

She watched as Hawke cut some slices of the fresh bread and popped in the oven to warm up, she couldn't help but watch over the rim of her cup as he bent down to slide the tray in the oven. He had such a cute butt she found herself blushing when he finally stood up to turn around and face her again.

"You look like you are starting to get some color back," he commented and she had to stifle her desire to let out an embarrassed laugh with a large gulp of the warm tea.

"Must be the hot tea," she commented and he nodded before he started grabbing some bowls for them.

After dinner, Caitlin took her medicine, antibiotics and the cough medicine she hated so much. The face she made from the horrible smelling cough medicine made Hawke laugh and she gave him a mischievous look.

"Oh funny, I ought to force a kiss on you so you can taste this stuff…my God it's awful," she said sticking her tongue out. "But it does let me get at least a few hours of sleep once it kicks in."

Hawke didn't think she'd have to force him much, nasty cough medicine or not.

"Well, my dear, you are taking the loft tonight, no argument," he told her in one of his 'I won't back down on this' tones he had.

"String, really? That is exactly why I didn't want Dom to bring me here, I don't want to throw you out of your own bed. You already do too much for me as it is," Caitlin complained but he shook his head. She knew she wouldn't win.

"Yes, really and I'd do anything for you, Caitlin, you know that. Sleeping on the couch is the very least I can do for you," Hawke said with a shrug.

"I'm too tired to argue with you anyway," she admitted as she sat down on the couch.

"Good." He answered dropping a quick kiss on the top of her head. "I'm going to go up and stoke the fire up there, make sure the room is warm enough for you. You just rest here."

Caitlin looked up at him as he walked past and she reached out and grabbed his wrist. When he stopped and looked back at her, Hawke felt his heart trip in his chest from the look in her eyes. "Thank you, String. I mean it."

He placed his hand over her smaller one and patted it. "I know."

She released him and let him head upstairs as she remembered the first time he'd said those words to her. It seemed a million years ago now, him standing there all roughed up in a jail cell no less and still so damn handsome it took her breath away and she'd just threatened him. Told him that if he was lying to her that she'd make what Bogan did feel like 'love taps'. His answer of "I know," was probably what stole her heart that very moment. It was silly but it really was that moment, he seemed so incredibly certain that she'd do exactly what she said. He didn't laugh it off, joke about it or make a chauvinistic comment, he just agreed.

It wasn't long before Hawke returned downstairs and touched her arm. She was already drowsy from the medicine. "Sorry I'm not better company, String," she said as she yawned into the crook of her elbow.

He laughed and shook his head. "You're fine, Cait. Come on, I'll make sure you don't slip on the stairs, you look like you can barely hold your head up."

"I think you're right. That cough medicine tastes nasty but man it puts me out like a light."

He helped her upstairs and then came back down to set up the couch for himself that night. He heard the wind howling and went to the window. They'd had a forecast of snow again tonight, much heavier than the few inches they'd gotten that morning. It didn't snow that often at the cabin, but this year had been wetter and colder than any they'd had in a long time.

He hoped that the bad weather had kept campers away from the lower east side of the lake where the murders had happened recently. The news had been going nuts about the serial killer on the loose, the FBI was already heavily involved doing what they do when it came to serial murders. That was part of why he didn't want Caitlin up at the cabin right now but Dom was right, the murders had taken place miles from his cabin and the killer had only gone after women alone, always tourists not locals or those who lived on the lower parts of the mountain full time.

Maybe the weather would keep the killer off the hunt too. Maybe someone would be safe tonight because of the snowstorm.


	2. Chapter 2

In another cabin about 4 miles away, Granny Williams was sitting on the edge of a small twin bed with a pink floral quilt over it reading to her granddaughter, Emily Black. Her granddaughter was all the family she had left and she was all Emily had left too. Esme, better known as Granny to most of the locals, had lost her husband Charlie about 15 years ago and then lost her daughter and son-in-law in a car crash two years ago. Since then, Esme had been running the bakery and raising Emily on her own. She should have been retired and enjoying her golden years but life hadn't quite turned out the way she and Charlie planned.

Emily was the joy of her life though. The little girl had jet black hair and bright unusually light blue eyes and the cutest freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. She was smart as a whip too, or at least Esme thought so. She was only 4-years-old but Emily could read books on a third-grade level, much like her mother in fact. Jilly had been a smart girl too and loved to read. She grew up to be an English teacher herself. For the girl with her love of books, Esme's daughter had been in the perfect career.

Her son-in-law Robert had been a good man. Bobby Black as he'd been known as was an average guy, handsome but fairly average in every other way. He adored both Jilly and Emily and he would have done anything for either of his girls. He worked hard and had been given a promotion at the factory he worked at just before the accident. Jilly had just turned 29 a few days before the accident happened and it was just by chance that little Emily hadn't been in the car with them.

The child had been cranky with a cold all that day and so instead of having her go home with her daughter and son-in-law, Esme had asked to keep Emily until that Sunday evening. She'd hoped to give the couple a few days of alone time that every couple needed occasionally. She claimed it was a belated birthday gift but she was really doing it to hopefully keep Jilly or Bobby from catching Emily's cold. She knew they had a hard time making ends meet sometimes and didn't want them to have to miss work or go to work sick if she could help.

Unfortunately, on their way back to Los Angeles they'd been involved in a horrible pile up on the freeway. Ten people had died that day in all because a trucker had fallen asleep at the wheel. Emily wasn't the only child orphaned either from what Esme had sadly learned after the accident investigation wrapped up.

Tonight, she and Emily were up a little later than normal. Esme had been late closing the bakery because of a wedding cake she was finishing up and she'd made sure she took Sarah, her other baker home since there had been some really bad things happening lately around the mountain.

Just a few miles from town four women had been killed over the summer and fall months and it had every woman in the area sticking close to their husbands, boyfriends, or just other women. It was almost comical watching the women of the area travel in packs. Women around town were also carrying handguns, tasers, mace and even those ultra-peace-loving hippie gals in the area were carrying loud whistles and mace themselves.

One of Esme's customers and dear friend she'd known since he was boy had asked after her just that day. He'd been worried about her and Emily in the cabin alone at night but she assured Stringfellow Hawke that if she had to be alone or just with Emily, she kept all the doors and windows locked, had her German Shepherd Sally and Charlie's shotgun near in the house. She wasn't about to become someone's victim if she could help it. He'd relented but told her that at any moment if she didn't feel safe to call him and he'd come pick them up and take them to his cabin. He might not have much room but he'd make sure they were safe. She loved the boy, well…man now but she'd known him since he was younger than Emily and loved him like a son. The Hawke's were all good people and they too had seen too much tragedy in their lives.

From what had been told around town, the killings had been gruesome. The first one in fact had been listed as a possible animal attack until a second and then third victim turned up. The people around the mountain were on edge, the tiny local police force was antsy, never having a murder let alone four to investigate. Recently, the FBI had sent a team to their little mountain town as well trying to figure out who was terrorizing the area and hoping to catch them before anyone else had to die. So far, the killer had only been attacking tourists, not anyone that actually lived in the area so that made some of the women in the little town feel safer.

Esme pushed the worries away as much as she could to not scare Emily but sometimes she felt her little granddaughter understood more than what anyone said directly to her.

As she finished up the story, Emily's eyes were sliding shut and Esme gave her a kiss on the forehead before tucking the covers in around the little girl.

It wasn't an hour after Esme had fallen asleep in her room that she was awakened by Sally growling and pacing in the hallway. Esme got up, silent as she could and grabbed Charlie's old shot gun. Sally could just be growling about a raccoon out in the garbage but with what had been going on lately, Esme certainly wasn't going to ignore the dog's instincts.

She stepped into the hallway and went to Emily's door. The child was still sleeping peacefully but Esme was alarmed that the hackles on Sally were standing and she was growling more now, low in her throat. Esme picked up the phone in the hall and silence greeted her. She swallowed hard and stepped back down the hall, pulling Sally with her into Emily's room.

She silently went to her granddaughter and woke her quietly.

"Granny?"

"Shhh, child. I need you to get up now."

"But it's still dark."

"I know. Come on. Put on your little boots here. There ya go," Esme said helping the child pull on her rain boots, they wouldn't be much protection in the snow but she didn't have time to look for anything else and didn't want to risk turning on any lights other than the nightlight burning in Emily's room already. "Here, put on your robe and your coat."

Emily thankfully didn't argue, she was still half asleep and didn't understand what was going on or why Sally was growling at her bedroom door.

Just as Emily got her jacket on, Esme heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Her mouth was as dry as parchment and she felt a chill run down her spine. She turned and unlocked the window, she picked up Sally and pushed her through first, the dog landed on top of the wood pile and thankfully nothing toppled over. Sally seemed to somehow know what was going on and stayed waiting, looking up at the window.

"Now, child. I need you to go out there with Sally and I need you to run. Run as fast as you can to Mr. Hawke's cabin. You know how to get there through the trail in the woods. No matter what you hear behind you, I want you to keep going. Emily, do you understand? Don't look back, just run. Just know that Granny loves you and I need you to get to Mr. Hawke's as fast as your little feet can go, okay?" Esme whispered to her.

"I don't want to go in the dark alone," Emily whispered back.

"Shhh, you'll be with Sally. Just go. Please, Emily, child please do what I say," Esme said in desperation, she could hear the footsteps still creeping around.

"I'll come to Mr. Hawke's as soon as I can."

With that, she picked her granddaughter up and dropped her out the window on top of the large woodpile. Emily slipped and skidded off the top from the snow and ice and fell hard on her little bottom, but thankfully the snow offered at least a little cushioning of her fall.

Unfortunately, it was enough noise to gain the attention of the intruder. He kicked in the door, Esme had hoped she'd be able to get out the window herself but it was too late. She swung the shotgun around and took the shot but it was a little wide in her fear and in the near darkness of the room. She did hear the man grunt though, at least some of the shot had hit him.

The man let out an animalistic growl as he rushed toward her.

Esme tried to get another shot off at the man but he managed to catch the end of the barrel and her shot just went into the wall beside the door.

The man was huge compared to her, he smelled horribly of unwashed human filth and Esme fought not to gag as he jerked her forward against his chest, yanking the gun from her hands. She fought him, bit his hand as hard as she could, as she tried to get away from him but all it took was one hard blow to her temple and Esme saw no more. It would be said later that it had been a Godsend that she had died from a sudden aneurism rather than being tortured to death as he had the others.

Emily had heard the two loud shotgun blasts but she did what her Granny had told her. Run. Don't look back. Run to Mr. Hawke's. It was a long way to his house, and the snow was over the top of her boots. Her little feet were soaked and freezing from the snow falling inside them but she kept on running. She fell more times than she could count but each time Sally came back to her and nuzzled her and licked her face. She'd get back up and run again, Sally knew the way to Mr. Hawke's too and seemed to just know where they were going.

Emily's throat and chest hurt from the cold wind and her little fingers were numb and the snow was blowing everywhere. She could barely see at all but she just focused on Sally's dark coat and followed her. She knew the way.

Usually when she walked with Granny when there wasn't any snow they could get to Mr. Hawke's by lunch time if they left right after breakfast. But they always took breaks and looked at the flowers or caught butterflies or watched any animals they came across. Tonight, there were no flowers, no butterflies, no animals except Sally, tonight she couldn't take a break. She knew something really bad had happened tonight. Granny would never throw her and Sally out the window without a good reason. Had there been a fire? Did Granny stay to fight the fire? What were the firecrackers for? Where was Granny? She said she'd come too?

It wasn't long before Emily started to get tired. She fell again, face first into the snow and she wasn't sure she could get back up. She was crying and just wanted to go back home and crawl into Granny's bed with her. She tried to push herself up but her little arms shook with the effort. Sally came back, whining at her but she just was too tired.

Sally grabbed the back of Emily's jacket in her mouth and started pulling the child through the snow toward the nice man's cabin and her friend Tet. He'd know what to do.

It wasn't long before Sally too was stumbling in the snow trying to pull the child, but she had to, her instincts told her she had to. The human pup couldn't survive outside like her, she didn't have fur and the fake furs they used weren't nearly good enough. Sally stopped for a few moments, licked the child's face, tasting the salt of her tears and whined at her.

Emily felt something warm on her face and struggled to open her eyes. "Sally…" she whispered and rolled over, struggling to get on her knees. "Still a long way," she murmured.

The dog stood up and looked down the trail toward where she could smell the smoke from the nice man's cabin where Tet lived. She looked back at her human pup and took her jacket in her teeth again, pulling on her arm this time.

"Okay, Sally…I'll try," Emily whispered as she struggled to stand. She almost fell right back down, she was so cold it hurt but she began following the dog again. Just before they made it to the tree line not far from Mr. Hawke's cabin, Emily fell again and this time, she couldn't get back up. Sally again, grabbed her jacket and started pulling, then she got a whiff of the fire smoke again and knew they'd arrived. She turned and ran as fast as she could, skidding on the icy steps where she fell and slid into the door of the cabin.

Sally barked and scratched at the door with all the energy she had left.

Hawke was startled out of his sleep by a thump against his door and then heard whining and barking and scratching. Tet too was barking and scratching at the door.

"Jesus," he murmured getting up and tugging his shirt on, buttoning it quickly and cramming his feet into his boots.

"Hawke, what's goin' on?" Caitlin called from the top of the stairs.

"I dunno, Cait you stay up there. Get my pistol out of the nightstand just in case!" he yelled up to her.

"Oh, Jesus," she murmured as she rushed over to the nightstand to search for the gun. By the time she was back at the top of the stairs, Hawke had his other gun in his hand and looked out the window.

He blinked as he looked at the dog on his porch. "Sally?" he questioned incredulously. Granny Williams would never let Sally out on a night like this. Hawke opened the door and Tet rushed out with Sally and Hawke stood there in confusion until Sally grabbed his pantleg in her mouth and started pulling.

"Hey…hey…" he said trying to pull away but then Tet did the same thing.

"What the hell…okay…okay I'm coming," he said as he went down the steps with the dogs. Sally broke away from him then and ran and skidded to a stop next to something dark in the snow, as Hawke got closer he could see it was…pink?

"Oh my, God!" he yelled out as he put away his gun. It was little Emily Black, what in the hell was she doing out here? In this snow? Had she really come four miles in the snow?

"Caitlin! Cait! Get the door," he yelled as he scooped the little girl into his arms and ran with her back to the house. He nearly busted his ass on the steps as he skidded across the ground but managed to keep his balance.

"Oh my, God. Hawke, what…."

"I dunno, Cait but we gotta get her warmed up," he said as he ran over to the fire and set the little girl on the rug as close to the hearth as he could.

Caitlin ran to the door and brought both the dogs in, and closed it tight behind her, putting the locks in place. She put the gun she had up on the mantle and stepped over little Emily.

"Is that…oh, that's Emily!"

"Yeah, I don't know what is going on but we gotta get her warm," he admitted.

"Okay, uh, you know better where things are. I want you to go upstairs and get the hot water bottle, towels, blankets, grab one of my sweaters out of my suitcase, it'll fit her better than one of yours and grab a pair of my socks too," Caitlin explained as she set to work pulling the snow damp clothing off the little girl.

Hawke didn't question a single thing Caitlin asked for, he just ran upstairs. He put his gun in the nightstand drawer and grabbed everything she listed.

When he got downstairs, Caitlin had the girl stripped down to her little pink Barbie doll panties and Hawke gasped. "God she's nearly blue," he said as Caitlin tossed away a soaked sock.

"We gotta get her warm, you come here and sit down facing the fire," Caitlin said, directing Hawke into position. "Take off your shirt."

He gave her a blank look for just a moment before his brain kicked in. Direct body heat. Yep.

Instead of wasting time with buttons, Hawke just yanked the shirt up over his head and threw it to the side. Caitlin picked up the little girl and laid her back against Hawke's chest. He hissed from the cold. "God, she's like ice," he whispered worriedly and Caitlin nodded. Her eyes were misted with tears and he felt about the same.

Caitlin wrapped several blankets around them and stood up with the hot water bottle. "Rub her arms and try to get some circulation going in them. I'm gona get some hot water." She filled the hot water bottle with hot tap water, she'd rather have had it a little hotter but this would have to do. It was certainly better than nothing.

She rushed back over, coughing a few times before she settled down and slid the hot water bottle between the covers and onto the little girl's stomach. "Hold this against her, I'll work on her legs and feet," Caitlin explained.

Hawke did as he was told, shivering a bit himself from how cold the child in his arms was.

Caitlin began to massage the little girl's legs and feet, warming her as much as she could. She reached down and pulled her own socks off and shoved them onto the little feet.

Hawke gave her an odd look. "They are already warm from my body heat, hoping they'll help more than just a fresh pair of socks would."

She reached over on the couch and grabbed the fresh socks Hawke had brought down and shoved them on her own feet. She held a blanket up near the fire getting it nice and warm and wrapped it around Hawke and the girl then grabbed a towel and set to drying the girl's dark hair.

"Come on, sweetheart, come on, wake up," Caitlin whispered to her. Hawke did the same in her ear, talking to her.

"Emily, come on, bug, wake up sweetie," he whispered and he felt the little girl shivering in his arms.

"She's starting to shiver," he murmured to Caitlin and she smiled.

"Oh, that's good news," she answered. "Very good news." Caitlin felt relieved knowing that if she was shivering that she was coming back from possible hypothermia. "I'm going to make her some tea, so we can get something warm in her."

While Caitlin was in the kitchen, Hawke continued rubbing the little girl's arm with one hand while one held the hot water bottle in place, then he'd switch. They still had no idea what was going on but at least Emily was warming up.

Emily woke with a cough and a cry and Hawke snuggled her closer.

"I got you, bug," he whispered.

"Mr. Hawke?"

"Yeah, Emily…just trying to get you warm, hon," he explained as she looked up at him with heavy lidded eyes. "You must be exhausted…did you come here from Granny's?"

"Yes, she told me to. She woke me up and dropped Sally out my bedroom window then me. She said she'd come too but she didn't. She told me to run to your house and not look back. So, I did as she said," the little girl explained in hitching and slurred words between shivers.

Caitlin came and sat down next to the pair and offered her the tea, it wasn't too hot for the child but at least warm enough to help soothe her and warm her from the inside. "Here you go, sweetie. You sure scared, String and me."

"I'm scared too," Emily admitted as she took a sip of the tea and then a larger one, it felt so good but she was so tired.

Caitlin's eyes met Hawke's and they both were terrified that Granny Esme Williams was the latest victim of the killer who'd been terrorizing the area around the lake for the last several months.

"Do you remember anything else?" Caitlin coaxed.

"Firecrackers. I heard firecrackers and ran. I just kept running. I fell a lot, the snow was hard to run in. Sally helped me though, she even pulled me in the snow with my jacket. I think she ripped it," Emily said looking around and seeing Sally and Tet sitting side by side on the rug across the room from the humans.

Caitlin reached over and picked up the pink jacket and saw where Sally had torn the fabric on the back, near her neck area and on the right sleeve. She held it up so Hawke could see above Emily's head.

"Good, Lord," he mouthed to Caitlin and she just sat the coat down and scooted over to Sally.

"Hey, you sweet, girl. I'll make sure you get a nice big steak for this," she whispered to the dog as she rubbed her head and chest.

Hawke smiled at Caitlin thanking the dog for helping to save Emily's life and he knew he'd be glad to chip in on a steak for her rescue job tonight.

"Cait, we are going to need to call the sheriff," he said in a low voice.

"Yeah, hang on," Caitlin picked up her sweater and held it out. "Let's get this on, Emily. Sweetie, are you warm enough now?"

"I think so, you have a hard chest, Mr. Hawke, not like Granny," the little girl complained and Hawke laughed. Well he was glad he didn't have the chest of a 70-year-old grandma but he decided not to say anything.

Caitlin had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the look on Hawke's face.

"Well come here, we'll get you in this and you can curl up on the couch with the blankets," Caitlin said, helping to unwrap the child from all the blankets and then pulled the sweater over her.

Hawke got up then and tugged on his shirt and walked over to the radio. He called the sheriff's office and explained what they knew.

Caitlin had taken to coughing again and went back to the kitchen to get herself a cup of tea too. She then settled down on the couch with Emily's feet in her lap where she rubbed them and then took off the socks to check for frostbite just in case.

"Whatcha' doin'?" Emily asked sleepily.

"Checking your little tootsie's here for something called frostbite. It can happen if your skin gets too cold," Caitlin explained. "But these little tootsies are all pink, just as they are supposed to be!"

Emily giggled and Caitlin pulled the overly large socks back onto her feet nearly to her knees.

"You still look awful tired, why don't you go to sleep, I promise I will be right here," Caitlin said softly as she brushed a few tendrils of jet black hair from the child's face.

"Tet and Sally too?"

Caitlin laughed. "Yeah, Tet and Sally too."

Hawke found himself having a hard time taking his eyes off the scene on his couch. 'Dom wanted grandkids, huh? Maybe one day. Caitlin sure would make a wonderful mother and…and I really do think I want her to be that wonderful mother to MY children. Child? No…children, more than one. I'm as bad as Dom, haven't asked her on a proper date yet and I'm already thinking about kids with her? Hell…marriage, she'd want that before kids. Caitlin Hawke does have a nice ring to it.' He really needed to talk to her. Hawke had finally after more than two years come to the realization that Caitlin was it for him. He'd been terrified like so many others she'd die on him but even through Airwolf missions, kidnappings, attacks and even deadly disease, she had come through it all. His trip with Michael had finally made him realize that, he already loved her and even if something were to happen, God forbid, at least he should make the most of the time he had with her instead of pushing her away.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the squawk of his radio. "Hawke, this is sheriff Mason…I uh…you…you might want to come down here to uh…to the Williams' house. You got anyone to watch the girl, she uh, she don't need to be here."

"Yeah, I have a friend here with her. I'll be there shortly." Hawke went to the couch and looked down at Emily asleep and then at a worried Caitlin.

"I need…"

"I heard. You go, but…hand me that gun I put on the mantle…just in case," Cait said looking up at him.

"That's my, Caitlin, always thinking ahead," he smiled and dropped a kiss on her upturned forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He laid the Colt on the table next to her.

"I know. Just be careful and if you can, get some of Emily's things to make her comfortable, at least some clothes and a toy or two," Caitlin said softly, feeling warmth to her toes from his kiss and the words 'my' Caitlin.

"Yeah. I'll do that, you need anything?"

"Nope. I'm good, you just be safe."

Hawke squeezed her shoulder and grabbed his jacket and gloves as he headed out the door. He went around back and got the snowmobile, it would be faster than walking even if the snowmobile path was the longer way to get to Granny Williams house. He was dreading what he'd find out when he got there.

There were few that had their cabins as high up as Hawke's grandparents had built theirs. The Williams family had been the only locals to build that high.

Hawke had known the family growing up around the cabin. Jillian or Jilly was younger than him by about 6 years so he and Sinjin didn't know her well but she'd been a pretty girl, very smart and sweet too. Emily was a lot like her mother.

There weren't many kids up there, at least that weren't tourist kids. Most were in the town where the Williams' had their bakery, it was just a tiny little tourist trap of a town where folks coming to the lake would stop in for food, bait and things. It only had one hotel and a bed and breakfast, a few small shops and the bakery along with the tiny sheriff's office, a medical clinic and a post office and two churches. Being a reservoir, they didn't allow swimming or any water sports so the lake was mostly for folks to fish or birdwatch or just camp with the kids to get away from the city for a little while. Hawke never socialized much with the folks in town but he did love the bakery and the Williams' had been great folks.

Shortly after Hawke returned from the war, Charlie Williams had passed away. Esme had been heartbroken but she'd kept the bakery going, her and Jilly and Sarah Denton. Jilly went to college then when she came home from college after graduation she brought Bobby with her. He was quiet but obviously adored Jilly. They moved to Los Angeles for work and Hawke hadn't even met their daughter until he learned of their deaths two years ago.

Ever since then, Esme had taken care of Emily and he'd gotten to know them a little more. They were neighbors if you considered a 4-mile distance to be a neighbor. He loved little Emily though, she was a sweet girl and he was always happy to see her and Esme on one of their adventures as they called them. The times the pair had shown up at his cabin on one of their walks, he'd always treated them to lunch and drank coffee with Esme on the porch as they watched Emily run around with Tet and Sally. Dom and Caitlin had gotten to know the woman and her granddaughter too and both adored Emily.

Hawke really liked Esme, in fact he almost had a notion of fixing her up with Dom at one time but wasn't sure he was the match making type. He sure couldn't get his own love life in order; how could he try and match make someone else? So, he'd let the idea drop, a part of him wondered if maybe that had been the wrong choice. If she'd not been what the killer thought of as a woman alone, maybe she'd have been safe?

Home invasion of a local was new for this freak though, Hawke thought sourly just as he arrived at the Williams' cabin. No smoke coming from the chimney suddenly made him feel even colder as he parked the snowmobile and walked up to sheriff Mason who had heard him and came out the back door.

"Wish I could mean it when I say good morning, Hawke," Mason said taking his hat off and shaking his hand.

"Yeah, it's not been a great morning. I suspect why you asked me here," Hawke said sadly.

The sheriff sighed heavily as he put his hat back on. "You're probably right with that suspicion too. Now I know you're a real private man and all but I also know that you do some work for the government. I don't know what kind and I don't want to know. But, we've got FBI crawling all over this place and they ain't sayin' much to me to be honest. Nothin' that makes any sense anyway."

"Behavioral Science folks?" Hawke asked, knowing that would be the unit sent in when it came to serial killers.

"Yeah…that's them," Mason said. "Personally, I don't care if this guy was a bed wetter or abused or has a screw loose, I just want him caught and put to justice for what he's done. Granny and those other ladies didn't deserve this and poor little Emily…she's gona have to go into foster care since she doesn't have any family."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'll see what I can do about Emily but…I really do need to get a few of her things. She'll stay with myself and my um, my friend Caitlin until something is worked out," Hawke said stumbling a bit on how he should describe Caitlin.

"I'm…I'm not so sure…uh, it happened IN little Emily's room, Hawke," Mason said looking a bit green.

"Oh, God," Hawke ran his hand across the back of his neck as he looked down. "Damn."

"Granny got off a couple shots with Charlie's old shotgun and the FBI folks said it looked like she might of winged the guy. Not enough to kill him or I guess slow him down much but enough they got some blood they might be able to use as evidence," Mason explained.

"Good for her. Granny wasn't the type to go down without a fight at least. I uh, I really do need to get some things for Emily. You think the FBI folks will let me?"

"You could talk to that guy over there. His name is Jason Gideon, the other guy is Dave Rossi," Mason explained.

Hawke nodded and patted Mason on the shoulder as he walked past him.

"Gentlemen?" Hawke asked as the pair turned. Both men were dark haired but that was where the similarities ended. One looked FBI, the other looked like he'd just stepped out of a college lecture hall. "My name is Stringfellow Hawke, Esme's granddaughter Emily Black is at my cabin with a friend right now. She ran there last night in the storm, her and her dog, four miles in the snow, she was nearly frozen to death when I found her passed out in the woods. Her dog came to my door going nuts, got my dog going nuts and pulled me out in the yard. We had to heat her up and get some warm liquids in her before she was out of the woods so to speak. Really good thing my girlfriend is studying to be an EMT," Hawke didn't even realize he'd called Caitlin his girlfriend.

"Hello, Mr. Hawke, unique name," Rossi said as he jotted something in a notepad.

"Yeah…just Hawke is fine. Fellas' I um," he paused and reached for his wallet, opening it to show them his FIRM credentials that he rarely if ever used but Michael had insisted he have. "We're somewhat on the same team."

Rossi's eyebrows rose and he looked at Gideon. "The FIRM huh? That's like spies who spy on spies isn't it?"

Hawke laughed. "I'm not a spy. I'm a pilot and I do security work for them sometimes."

"Security?" Gideon asked but wasn't entirely surprised the man ignored the question.

"Anyway, Esme was a friend and…I hope you catch this bastard. Actually. I have to be honest, I hope you are forced to kill the monster but…I've got a scared little girl at my house who needs some clothes and maybe some familiar toys. Mason said it happened in her room…I don't want to contaminate your crime scene but would it be possible to get some things for her?" Hawke had sidestepped Gideon's wish for clarification and he hoped he wouldn't press it.

Rossi looked up from his notes and frowned. "You sure you want to go in there? It…it was hard for us to see and we deal with this sort of thing every day."

Hawke closed his eyes for a moment and nodded. "I've seen some pretty bad stuff, most of it in the war but yeah…I don't think that will be the issue. My wanting to go hunting for this freak would probably be the more powerful issue."

"You aren't alone in that sentiment. All the local police feel the same and I'm not sure I don't agree with your hope about us being forced to kill this guy. Sometimes, we want to put these people in a little room and study them and then there are some, we just want justice served quickly. We are human too," Gideon admitted.

Rossi realized that Hawke was a fellow Vietnam veteran and jotted something down on his notepad. He'd said he was a pilot so he jotted down Air Cavalry with a question mark.

"Walking the fine line of doing your job to the letter and being human at the same time isn't easy. And explains why I'm not a spy," Hawke said with a grin. "I can't forsake my personal morals for the greater good."

Rossi started to laugh at that. "I believe you for some reason, Stringfellow Hawke."

"Come on, I'll take you up and um…you'll need gloves and covers for your shoes," Gideon said leading Hawke over to where he could grab the items Gideon mentioned.

"Last thing I want to do is screw up your crime scene," Hawke admitted as he headed into the house behind Gideon.

In the entryway, Hawke put on the gloves and shoe covers the same as Gideon did and then they walked upstairs to the door. It had been kicked off its hinges and Hawke saw the smattering of holes from Granny's shotgun blasts. Too bad she'd only had birdshot in that thing.

"Thata girl," he said as he looked at the marks on the doorframe and wall. "I knew she wouldn't go down without a fight."

Gideon smiled grimly. "She did fight at that and the coroner thinks she was already dead before he started his…ritual. He's thinking heart attack or maybe an aneurism by blunt force trauma to the temple. He won't know for sure until he does a full autopsy but those were his preliminary findings."

When they stepped into the room, it was a blood splattered mess. Hawke had seen some awful things in his life but nothing prepared him for this. It was as if a bomb had gone off.

"This guy must really be out of his fucking skull," Hawke murmured as he tried to cautiously make his way to the closet. A large bloody handprint caught his attention and he knew they'd have him on his prints alone. The man didn't care about evidence that was for sure. Outside he seemed calm and detached like any other agent might be, but inside his gut was roiling and he wanted to find this man and rip him apart the same way the monster had done to his victims.

He opened the closet and gathered a few of Emily's little dresses, shoes, her nice dress coat she wore to church and grabbed a Strawberry Shortcake suitcase out of the floor of the closet. He put the things inside and then went to her dresser and scooped out a handful of socks, little girl underthings and a few pairs of tights to go with her dresses. She had a little jewelry box on top of the dresser, he opened it and a ballerina started dancing to _Fur Elise_. There were some earrings and little bracelets and necklaces he'd seen the girl wear in the past. He shut the box and put it inside the suitcase as well. He turned around and looked at the room, one area didn't have much damage and no blood splatter. He found a few stuffed toys and a couple of dolls. He put what he could in the suitcase and then stuffed a few of the dolls and animals under his arm. "Maybe I can grab a grocery sack out of the kitchen or something for these."

Gideon noticed that the man didn't seem bothered by the gory scene but he also noticed how Hawke had kept his gaze mostly on what he was looking for. Closet, clothes, dresser, music box, toys. Efficient, no dawdling and no gawking but also, emotions so tightly clamped that Gideon could feel his own jaw aching from how tightly Hawke had his own clenched. Raw anger. Barely beneath the surface but held in check. He suspected this man had an explosive, even dangerous temper but Gideon realized that Hawke also knew it would do him no good here and now.

Gideon followed Hawke into the kitchen, the man had obviously spent time in the house before. He let him gather a grocery bag to put the toys in and followed him back out of the house into the crisp snowy early morning.

"Thank you for letting me get these things for Emily," Hawke said as calmly as he could. "Once the scene is cleared and everything we'll probably come back to take care of Esme's things and Emily's."

"Thank you for keeping your grief and temper in check and not wrecking my crime scene," Gideon said as he watched Hawke toss his gloves and shoe covers in the trashcan they had set up for specifically those things.

"Yeah, I might have to go punch something before I get back to the cabin with the girls but…I'll be fine. Just promise me, do your job, Gideon. Find this monster and either send him away forever or end him," Hawke said. "And I'm going to tell you now, if he tries to come around my girls at my cabin, you'll be taking him back in a body bag. I rarely miss and my Caitlin…she never misses."

Gideon had to chuckle at that. "As Dave said, I believe you."

Hawke walked back to his snowmobile and began to secure the suitcase and the bag and turned to see Gideon still standing there. "Something else?"

"Hmm, oh…I was wondering is this Caitlin your friend or girlfriend? You described her as both but you also called her 'yours' in a very possessive way."

"You can't help it, can you? Analyzing people?"

"Afraid not."

"It's a little complicated."

"Hmm, yeah, in our line of work I could see how it could be," Gideon answered.

"But I'm hoping to work on something permanent," Hawke said after a moment. It felt good to admit that to a stranger for some reason.

Gideon smiled and held his hand out to Hawke. "Then I wish you luck with that, Stringfellow Hawke."

"Thanks. If you guys have any questions you can raise me on the radio, channel 12 or you can reach me at Santini Air in Van Nuys on Monday. I'll be glad to help in any way I can. I figure you'll want to interview Emily about what she remembers. Thank God, she didn't see anything but she may have heard something important for your case. I don't want her to have to go through it but both Caitlin and I know it has to be done. Caitlin is former Texas Highway Patrol, so she knows you'll have questions for Emily. I just ask that you give Emily today to rest. She was half dead when we found her this morning and that isn't an exaggeration."

"No, Hawke, I don't think you are the type to exaggerate, are you? Here is the number where we are staying if you need to talk to us before tomorrow. We'll be in touch and trust me, we'll be as sensitive as possible to Emily. She's only four I believe?" Gideon asked, impressed with Hawke.

"Yeah, she's a smart kid, very smart but she is only four and Esme was all she had." Hawke got on the snowmobile and offered a slight wave before starting it and heading back up the trail to his cabin.

Gideon watched as the other man drove away into the snow and shook his head. "Doesn't appear to me that Esme was all that little girl had, Hawke," he said shoving his hands in his pockets. Dave walked up beside him.

"That little girl is lucky to have a neighbor like that, he'll be one hell of a guard dog for her."

"Mmm, yeah. I'd like to know a little more about this Stringfellow Hawke," Gideon said after a moment of thought.

"I know you don't think he's a suspect," Rossi said incredulously.

"Not at all but he may be one hell of an ally on this case, especially since it's the Mayberry police department we're working with."

Dave couldn't help but laugh at Jason's description of the local sheriff's office. State Police were also working with them but the local sheriff was still given priority even though the worst they'd investigated before this summer was some minor drug smuggling in the area.

Halfway home, Hawke stopped and got off the machine to walk around for a few minutes trying to work out some of the repressed anger he had. He vented a bit kicking the crap out of a downed tree and once he calmed and took a few deep breaths, he felt only slightly better but his anger was under control now.

Jason Gideon was on the phone with Marie back in D.C. asking her to look into Stringfellow Hawke's background for him. It was only a short time before she reported back with what she could find, though she noted that there were several classified files that she could not access without hacking them. She did inform him that an FBI file was one of those classified with higher clearance than any she could use. Gideon told her to leave them be, he didn't need the man's government secrets he just wanted to know what sort of man they were dealing with. From his background, Hawke had been more than an exceptional pilot.

"Highly decorated Air Cavalry, I had assumed Air Cav but wasn't certain. Guys like him saved many, many men in Vietnam often under heavy fire. Those guys had to have nerves of steel to keep those birds in the air. That right there makes me want to respect him, it was a pilot like him that saved my life and those of my buddies more than once," David said as he listened to the information that Marie had gathered.

"NASA too, he'd worked with the early shuttle program and has a master's degree in applied physics, so he's no intellectual chump either," Jason answered. "If we need a pilot, which we could on this case I'd like to bring him in on it. I feel we can trust him and I know he was sincere with his offer of help."

"Yeah, how'd he react up there anyway?"

"He didn't. Oh, don't get me wrong, he was boiling with anger but he kept it in check. My jaw hurt watching him clenching his. It was interesting watching someone who could come into an environment like that, especially someone who knew the victim personally. He did what he could to ignore the horror of it and do what he'd come for. Get personal effects for that little girl. He didn't say much, just focused on getting in, getting what he needed and leaving again. He didn't try touching anything he didn't feel he needed to. I did notice him eye that big handprint. It was like watching a professionally trained FBI agent in a crime scene. He's more than just some pilot and security personnel for the FIRM, you noticed he didn't answer me on that and his record has enough holes filled with classified files that he is much more than meets the eye," Jason said as he sat down in the car and looked over at David.

"He did avoid that question but I believed him when he said he wasn't a spy," Dave said shrugging.

"I do too. He's not a spy but he works with them and I think he's the kind of man they use when a spy gets too far over their head," Jason said seriously. "He has done air search and rescue too so as I said, we could certainly use him."

"So, we go real easy with the little girl tomorrow? Not that we wouldn't have anyway but definitely try not to upset her as much as we can so that he will want to help?" Rossi said as he started the car.

"Exactly. I think if he knows this lake and mountain as well as I believe he does, he'll be an asset we can't afford not to utilize. I normally wouldn't want a witness, especially a child to wait a day because of memory and recall issues but in this case I'm willing to give him that."


	3. Chapter 3

When Hawke arrived back at his cabin, he stowed the snowmobile and then carried the things in, smiling to himself when he saw Caitlin and Emily curled up on the couch reading.

"Oh, good you were able to get some of her things," Caitlin said, as she set the book aside and got up. Emily looked much better than before he left and Hawke felt some tightness in his chest uncurl a little.

Caitlin gave him a questioning look as she walked towards him and he shook his head. Her eyes filled with tears and he wrapped her in his arms.

"How do we tell her, String?" Caitlin whispered against his ear.

"We'll think of something," he whispered in return.

Caitlin leaned back and wiped her face, trying to wipe away the evidence of her tears as she took the suitcase from Hawke. She had to hide a small grin, it was pretty funny to see a guy like Hawke carrying a Strawberry Shortcake suitcase. That cheered her just a little, but not enough for the humor to reach her eyes.

"Emily, sweetie, you wanna go upstairs and take a bath and change into some clean clothes?"

Emily looked up from her book and nodded. "Okay. Did you find Granny, Mr. Hawke?"

Hawke looked at Caitlin and back at the child. He shook his head. "Uh, no I'm sorry, bug. Why don't you go up with Caitlin for now and I'll make some calls?" he said.

Emily could sense something was wrong though, Miss Caitlin looked sad and Mr. Hawke seemed especially quiet to her. He never said a whole lot when she and Granny visited him but he hadn't even offered her a hug as usual.

"Okay…can, I mean…can I have a hug too?" Emily asked and Hawke gave her a startled smile.

"Oh, little bug you can hug me anytime you want, sweetheart. You never have to ask," Hawke said as he lowered to his knee so that Emily was eye to eye with him.

She threw her little arms around his neck and squeezed tight as he returned the hug, rubbing her back. He looked up at Caitlin who was standing on the stairs and saw her swallowing hard fighting against a bout of tears.

He watched as the two made their way upstairs and then went over to his radio and collapsed into the chair in front of it. He reached instead for the briefcase that held his satellite phone, Michael had given him. He needed to call Dom on something more private than the radio.

Dom was as devastated as Caitlin after he told him the situation but he was also furious. Just like him, Dom wanted to do something, anything and Hawke told him to come up to the cabin.

He sat back in the chair and scrubbed his hands over his face unable to believe just yesterday morning he'd talked to Esme at her bakery. He couldn't understand why anyone would do what this monster was doing to these women but he certainly didn't understand Esme at all. Why her? She was such a kind woman, she was in her late 60s early 70s, she was in a house not out in the woods like the other women had been. But it also had been summer and fall for those murders. More people were outdoors then and after the killings began less and less people were about. Obviously, this guy had a drive to kill and opportunity had been all he needed. Anyone who knew the area, even just tourists that stayed more than a week knew Esme and Emily lived alone up on that area of the mountain. It was off his regular MO since she was older but she was also an easy target. If he couldn't get to his regular prey then he had to adjust, it made a sick sort of sense to Hawke. He shuddered at the thought of even figuring out a little bit of how that lunatic's mind worked. Like a junkie, the guy needed his 'fix' and so he used the opportunity to go after someone easy. This time of year, there were even fewer tourists for him to choose from. That had to be why he changed.

He pulled out the card he had for Gideon and Rossi and dialed their number. He could hear Caitlin and Emily giggling upstairs, still in the bathroom so he knew he had a little time to talk to them. They did this crap for a living, he needed some advice.

"Gideon here," Gideon's voice said over the phone.

"Hey, Gideon, this is Stringfellow Hawke, I uh, I need, well this is going to sound strange but a bit of advice. You guys do this stuff for a living, how the hell do I explain this to a 4-year-old?"

Gideon sighed as he sat down on the edge of the hotel bed. "I'm not entirely sure I know the answer to that myself, Hawke," he answered and Rossi quirked an eyebrow at him.

He pushed speaker on the phone so they could both talk. "Dave is here with me, Hawke, he generally has better advice when it comes to this sort of thing," Jason Gideon answered, he was many things but often tact wasn't his best ability.

"I didn't hear the question but I'm assuming you are having a tough time figuring out what to tell the granddaughter?" Rossi said as he sat on the other double bed facing Jason.

"Yeah, the girls are upstairs so I don't have long and neither Caitlin or I can figure out just what to tell her. She's already asking about Granny and I had to avoid her question not wanting to upset her yet. Hell, fellas I have no idea how to do this, I wondered if since you guys have training in this stuff you might have some advice," Hawke admitted.

"Well you said the girl was smart so, she likely won't take any lies, no Granny had to go on a long trip sort of crap or anything like that. You might just have to explain it to her, that bad things sometimes happen to really good people and just…let her react however she wants. Just be supportive, I'm sure your girlfriend will help with that."

"Thanks, hey if you guys need any air tracking support on anything let me know. My friend Dominic Santini is on his way up now with one of his choppers. It'll be here at my cabin and if you can't get a snowmobile in town, they are sometimes all rented out you can use mine. Anything, anything at all I can do to help guys you got it," Hawke told them.

"Anything you think your agency can help us with?" Gideon asked.

"I'm not sure but I can have my contact up here in no time, just say the word," Hawke told them.

"They have a few resources that the FBI doesn't have so if they could help with some it might bring this case to a close sooner," Gideon admitted.

"They've done a lot with blood matching, Sheriff Mason said you had some blood from the scene, that Granny got him with her shotgun," Hawke answered.

"Yeah, we flew a sample overnight to D.C. but if we could do it locally it would be a whole lot easier and faster especially if we nail down a suspect and can check medical records, it would speed up any warrants," Rossi answered then.

"You got it, guys. I'll give him a call and get back to you, you going to be at this number long?"

"Yeah, I think we're going to be going over our reports and notes the rest of the day so we can finish building our profile," Gideon answered.

"All right, talk to you again real soon then," Hawke said and hung up.

"You were right about him, looks like he will be helpful," Rossi said as he set the phone handset back in its cradle.

Hawke called Michael who already knew of the murder through his own channels but hadn't known how involved the Airwolf team was. "Good, God, Hawke. That poor child. I'm surprised at you of all people asking for interagency cooperation like this but I understand the reason and the Behavioral Science team have nothing at all to do with the teams that were once looking for Airwolf. I know of Gideon and Rossi by reputation only but they are very good reputations. They are proving that Behavioral Science is especially useful in kidnapping and serial and ritualistic killer investigations. The FBI is actually planning some more funding for their little department last I heard."

"They appear to be good men to me, Michael and anything we can do to help bring justice for these women, especially Granny Williams…well…she was a good friend. I know the FIRM isn't exactly into doing general domestic police work and such but this is a special situation, ya know? Five women are dead now because of this freak."

Michael knew that Hawke had few friends and the man would do absolutely anything for those he considered good friends. Hawke was loyal to a fault. It sometimes conflicted with his Airwolf duties but more times than not, Hawke was right and Michael had to let the man take the lead where he felt it should go. Hawke was right about the FIRM's mandate but it also couldn't hurt to help on a domestic case like this either. Especially showing the committee that they were willing to play ball with the FBI would be good for the Airwolf team. The Admiral assured that Hawke had the full backing of the Navy, the Air Force was tentatively on board behind Hawke because of that situation with Stappleford a year or so back. The President was also happy with Hawke due to that mess with Spaceguard that they'd just testified about. If he had the FBI on his side too, it would give him and the Airwolf team much fewer problems.

"I'll be there in the morning, hopefully with information you can use. I'll send Marella to pick up the samples they have now and anything else they think we can help with," Michael said.

"Great, they are staying at the hotel in town, they will be coming tomorrow to interview Emily. I asked if they'd give me a day to break the news and give her a chance to recover from her ordeal this morning," Hawke said as he heard the girl's coming down the stairs. "I have to go."

"Understand. Take care of her and Caitlin, I understand she's been under the weather."

"Yeah. See you, tomorrow."

"See who tomorrow?" Caitlin asked as she walked over to him. Emily had gone over to the dogs and was sitting in the floor with them. She still looked tired and Caitlin looked like she could still use more rest as well. He'd heard her hard coughs several times while he'd been on the phone.

"Michael. Dom is on his way up now, I think he's bringing a late breakfast for all of us," Hawke said as he stood up.

"Oh, good, Emily and I are both starving," Caitlin said and then started coughing again. "Oh, this damn cough!"

Hawke gave her shoulders a squeeze and kissed her forehead. "You need to rest, that is why Dom brought you up here."

"I know. But you can't take care of Emily and deal with everything else. Plus, she's such a darling girl. I feel awful about all this," Caitlin said softly.

"Yeah, me too. We have to figure out how to tell her today, the FBI guys are coming tomorrow to interview her," Hawke explained.

Caitlin made a face and sighed. "I really don't want her to have to go through that but I know it is necessary. This afternoon?"

"Yeah, let her have a little normalcy for right now," Hawke said as he looked over at the little girl laying on the floor by the fire with the dogs on either side of her. She was petting them both as the dogs snuggled next to the girl. Caitlin had dressed her in a cute pink sweater and jeans, she had fluffy slippers on her feet.

"She sure likes pink," Hawke commented and Caitlin laughed.

"She's four, of course she does. Ya' know if the situation hadn't been so serious I might have laughed seeing you walking in ever the hero in your leather jacket and aviator shades, carrying a Strawberry Shortcake suitcase and a bag with a pink bunny hanging out the top."

Hawke grinned. "Hero huh?"

"Yeah. Always my hero, String. She needs a hero right now," Caitlin said softly.

"I need a time machine," Hawke said sadly. "I'd go back and convince Granny to stay here yesterday like I wanted to when I talked to her at the bakery."

"You can't blame yourself for that, she'd never have agreed and you know it," Caitlin said sternly and then ruined it with several wracking coughs.

"You need some rest and some medicine," Hawke said seriously.

"No, no medicine. I'll end up asleep again," she murmured. "But I'll take some more of that tea you make."

"Then my lady, you shall have it," he said taking her arm in his and walking her to the couch. "You sit down, rest and I'll get you that tea. Emily, you want anything to drink while we wait on Dom with breakfast?"

"Do you have any juice?" Emily asked sitting up and grinning at him. Such an innocent face and he was torn up inside thinking of what they had to tell her that afternoon.

"Sure do, I have apple and orange," Hawke said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Apple!" Emily said happily. She got up slowly still not feeling well from her race in the snow last night. Her feet and legs hurt a little bit and she was still really tired. She followed Mr. Hawke into the kitchen. She liked him and Miss Cait, they were always nice to her whenever they came to the bakery, Uncle Dom too, he always made her laugh so hard her tummy hurt.

"You said Uncle Dom was coming too?" Emily said as Hawke handed her a glass of apple juice and started making Caitlin's tea.

"Yeah, matter of fact, I think I hear his helicopter now," Hawke said as he finished up with Cait's tea. He took it to her on the couch and told both Emily and Caitlin to stay put, that it was too cold for them out right now. Then he went out to meet Dom who had brought up everything for breakfast.

"Thanks for bringing this, Dom. I think Emily will love your pancakes," Hawke said as he took the bags and gave Dom a one-armed hug.

"Least I could do, poor kid. She okay?"

"We haven't told her yet…Caitlin and I plan to tell her this afternoon," Hawke replied as they walked up the dock toward the cabin. "Michael is coming in the morning and I think the FBI guys are going to come up then to talk to her about anything she remembers."

"Damn. I can't believe Esme is gone. I…just…damn it," Dom said shaking his head.

"I know. I…it was awful, Dom. This guy is an animal. It took all I had in me not to lose it when I was in Emily's room. It…Jesus, Dom, I've seen bad things but this was downright insane," Hawke admitted.

Both men put on happier facades before they entered the cabin. Caitlin smiled at Dom and welcomed him and Emily ran over and hugged his legs. "Uncle Dom!"

"Hey, kiddo!" he said leaning down to give her a proper hug and a kiss on her forehead. "String told me you were spending time here. I decided I'd come up and make you my famous chocolate chip pancakes!"

"I love chocolate chips!" Emily said happily.

"You bring some strawberries for me?" Caitlin asked with a grin.

"Oh, sure I did! I'd never forget your favorite, Cait!"

Hawke went on into the kitchen to take everything out of the grocery bags Dom had brought and laughed when he saw blueberries too. "I see you got my favorite as well," Hawke said shaking the blueberry container.

"Son, I raised you, I know what you love," Dom said with a laugh and joined him in the kitchen.

"Did Uncle Dom really raise you, Mr. Hawke?" Emily asked and Hawke smiled at her.

"Emily, sweetheart you know you don't have to call me mister all the time you can call me String or Hawke if you want and yep, Dom did raise me since I was ten years old," Hawke explained.

Emily scrunched her nose. "Granny says it's impolite to call grown-ups by their names, it should be Aunt or Uncle or Mister or Miss and stuff like that."

Hawke laughed. "Most of the time I'd agree with your granny on that but if an adult asks you to call them by their given name, then it is okay because then you are honoring their wishes," he explained.

"Oh. Like when Miss Sarah told me to just call her Sarry," Emily said sitting down Indian style on the floor between the kitchen and living room next to Sally.

"Yep, just like that!" Dom answered as he washed his hands and got things started in the kitchen. "Cait, hon, how are you feeling?" he asked because Caitlin was coughing again.

"Fine. Just still fighting this cough, I'll be right as rain in a few days," Caitlin assured him. "String has been taking great care of me, his tea helps my cough a lot."

Emily made a face. "Can I call you Uncle String and Aunt Cait? I'm not sure it's good to call you by your names. I'm still too little for that."

Caitlin started to laugh. "I don't mind at all, what about you Uncle String?"

"Fine by me," Hawke said as he washed the berries while Dom worked on the batter.

"You fellas need any help?" Caitlin asked.

"Nope, you just relax. You need the rest."

"Can I help?" Emily asked and Hawke grinned at her.

"Sure, why not. Dom, grab that bar stool. Here ya go," he said picking Emily up and setting her on the stool. "You dry the berries for me so they don't water down the batter."

"Okay!"

Caitlin was grinning over her mug of tea at the scene in the kitchen. She loved Dom as if he were her own father and Hawke, she loved that man more than she had ever loved any man in her life. One of the many reasons was how great he was with children. She really, really wanted to be the mother of his children one day too if he would ever just open his eyes and see how much she loved him. He seemed to be coming around. He hadn't dated anyone in almost a year now and he seemed to be more interested in her, talking to her more at the hanger, asking her to accompany him on missions more and touching her more. He'd always been a bit tactile with her, putting his arm around her waist or shoulder. Kisses on the cheek or forehead, even the lips once in a great while. He hugged her often too and called her family now. It hadn't always been that way but it seemed like he was noticing her now. He also seemed to be coming out of his shell more too with her. Telling her things about himself and his past that he never shared in the first few years of their friendship.

She looked up in time to see Hawke steal one of the blueberries from the little pile in front of Emily and the girl was giggling like crazy.

"No eating the ingredients, String!" Dom barked and Emily looked up mischievously at him before popping a blueberry in her mouth too. "Why you little…I ought to give you plain pancakes for that!"

"But Uncle Dom I like the plain ones too," Emily said laughing.

Hawke was glad to see Emily laughing, this morning had given him and Caitlin a huge scare. Her color had seemed to be back after her long bath with Caitlin earlier and even though she still looked a bit tired and wasn't running around like she usually was, he knew she was going to be fine. Thanks in large part to Caitlin's knowledge of how to treat the child. He hadn't forgotten Sally either. He grabbed a pan and threw a steak, he'd had Dom get in it and started it cooking.

Emily looked at him oddly. "Uncle Hawke, why are you makin' a steak to go with pancakes?"

Dom laughed and just kept working and Caitlin stood up to come to the bar herself.

"You told Dom to pick up a steak huh?"

"Well you did promise her, didn't you?" Hawke said with a grin.

"Promise who what?" Emily asked curiously as she dried the last of the strawberries.

"Well kiddo, Aunt Caitlin here promised Sally a steak for doing such a good job bringing you here this morning," Hawke explained.

"Really? Oh, she's gona love that…but what about Tet? Won't he feel left out?"

"There's enough for them both to share, bug," Hawke said as he winked at her. Tet had also been trying to get him out to Emily in the snow too. It was his tug on Hawke's pantleg that really had gotten his attention because Tet had never done anything like that before. It was so out of the norm that it quickly woke his still half-asleep brain up.

Once breakfast was ready, Dom and Caitlin set the table and Hawke cut up the steak to divide between two bowls for the dogs. He gave it to them in the living room while the humans settled in at the table.

"I have to admit it was odd watching you cook a steak," Caitlin said as she cut her pancakes.

Dom laughed at that and nodded. "String was terribly picky as a kid took me forever to figure out he just didn't like meat. Saint John now, he loved the stuff. I always just made something extra for String so he didn't have to always be forced to eat what he didn't like."

"I always thought it was a lifestyle choice," Caitlin said curiously.

"Nope, he's been like that since he was a kid."

"I like fish too!" Emily said and everyone laughed.

"Yes, but I've seen you chowing down on a cheese burger too. String just never cared for them. He was a skinny little thing when they were young. I kinda thought he lived up to the name String for a while there but he filled out," Dom explained.

I'll say he did, Caitlin thought to herself and looked down at her plate in half embarrassment just from the thought.

"One of the boys at Sunday School is always upset because the other boys call him Stringbean. I don't think it is a nice thing to call someone at all," Emily said seriously as a four-year-old could.

"No, that isn't nice at all," Dom agreed. "Especially at Sunday School of all places. You ought to let your teacher know."

"I wondered if I should. Thanks, Uncle Dom, I will when I see her. Are we going to meet Granny at Church tomorrow morning?" Emily asked innocently and Caitlin began to cough.

"Excuse me," Caitlin said getting up. "I'll be right back." Her voice was tight and Hawke knew it wasn't the coughing bothering her.

"Cait?" Dom asked concerned and Hawke stood up.

"Don't worry, this cough has really been rough on her. I'll go check on her, you just enjoy the rest of your meal, huh?" Hawke said as he went upstairs after Caitlin.

She had closed the bathroom door and was standing at the sink crying.

"Cait? Caitlin, can I come in?" Hawke asked at the door.

She didn't give an answer but the door opened. One look at her, he could tell her heart was breaking for Emily. "Oh, String, I'm not sure I can handle telling her," she whispered.

He gathered her in his arms and kissed her temple. "I know. I know, baby. But we have to, we can't lie to her and keep her in the dark. She's too smart for that."

"I know but I just want to keep her innocent just a little while longer," Caitlin said sniffling. Then it dawned on her, Hawke just called her baby. "Uhm, String did um, did you just call me baby?"

Hawke froze for a second and then leaned back to look into Caitlin's watery eyes.

"Yeah," he said softly. "I did call you, baby. I…Caitlin now in a bathroom is probably not the most opportune of times but I had hoped this weekend was going to go a whole lot different. I wanted, well I was planning on telling you some things and, well, asking you some things too. Like, out on a date when you feel better for instance. A real date, not just lunch at the diner or something. Candlelight, dancing and a movie or something."

"Oh, String, the answer is yes, no matter when you ask, or when we get a chance, opportune moments or not, the answer is yes," Caitlin said with a smile. Tears were still shining in her eyes but Hawke thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

He kissed her softly at first but as she returned the kiss it seemed like the entire world fell away and it was just the two of them and how the kiss made them feel. Hawke had been in love before but this with Caitlin was different. It wasn't just attraction and affection it was more, it was friendship and loyalty it was purely unconditional, it was everything he'd ever wanted to feel and more.

When they drew apart, Caitlin was a little dazed and then she giggled. "Our first real kiss in a bathroom…we've never been very conventional you and me."

Hawke started to laugh as well. "Yeah, terrible timing too. I had something better planned out in my head but…I just needed you to know now."

"Stringfellow Hawke, your timing is just fine. I'm happy just knowing you want me, no matter where we are."

"Caitlin, I do want you, but more than that I love you and I want a life with you," Hawke said softly, staring into her blue-green eyes.

"You…oh, String I love you too and all I've ever wanted to do was be a part of your life, ever since we met in that jail house in Pope County. I fell for you the moment you said, 'I know' in that jail cell," Caitlin admitted.

"Cait, is that the real reason you looked me up?"

"Don't let it go to your head, flyboy but….yeah, I couldn't stop thinking about you. And then you were so happy to see me that day, that smile of yours…I just had to stay and see what might happen. I'm so glad I did," Caitlin said softly, her stomach was swarming with butterflies admitting all this after two years but it was all true.

"Me too, Cait. Me too," Hawke said kissing her again. When he drew away he smiled at the woman he loved. "You feel up to going back downstairs?"

"In a minute. I need to wash my face, I don't want Emily to see I was crying."

"Okay, Cait. Take your time," he said as he backed out of the bathroom and just stood there for a moment. He ran his hands through his short hair and felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He'd finally told her how he felt and knew for certain that she did in fact love him back. It didn't remove all the pain he felt today over Esme's death and Emily's now being an orphan but it did a lot to help ease that pain. It also seemed to give him a sense of freedom from the memories and the ghosts of his past.

When he came back downstairs the table had been cleared and Emily and Dom were on the couch. He was telling the girl one of his tales. When Dom's eyes met his, he knew that the man who was basically his father knew that something had changed. He nodded and smiled as he grabbed his jacket. "I need to let the dogs out," Hawke said.

"Can I go? I wanna make a snowman," Emily asked.

"Are you sure you wanna come out here? It's still real cold and you were way too cold this morning, hon'," Hawke told her.

"I feel okay now. Please?" she said hopefully.

"Alright, well let's get you bundled up," Hawke said as he walked over to her. Her coat from last night had tears and was still damp but he was surprised when he saw Caitlin coming down with Emily's dress coat.

"If you promise not to get muddy, you can wear your good coat. Your other one isn't dry yet," Caitlin said.

"I promise!" Emily immediately said with a big smile.

"All right then, come here. I got your snow boots, let's put them on, then you can put on your gloves and my scarf to keep your head warm since this coat doesn't have a hood okay?" Caitlin said.

"Okay! It's a pretty scarf, Aunt Cait!"

"Thank you, Dom gave it to me on my birthday this year," Caitlin said with a grin.

Hawke and Dom watched as Caitlin bundled the girl up, wrapping the scarf around her head, ears and neck and then put the coat on over it and buttoned it up.

"Comfortable?"

"Yep!"

"All right, don't wander away from the front of the cabin okay?" Caitlin said. "That way I can watch. With my cough, I shouldn't be out in the cold so I'll be here at the window watching. I want to see your snowman," Caitlin said cheerfully.

Emily nodded a huge nod that made the adults grin as she scrambled to the door. She stopped and ran back to Caitlin who was still kneeling. "Thanks, Aunt Caitlin. I hope your cough gets better so you can come make a snowman with me before the snow goes away," the little girl said as she threw her arms around her neck and gave her a squeeze.

Hawke laughed and looked at Dom. "That little girl has so much love in her heart," Dom said almost sadly, knowing how hard this afternoon was going to be.

"Yeah. Let's make sure she at least makes some good memories today," Hawke said quietly as they opened the door and let the dogs and Emily run out ahead of them.

They had gotten nearly a foot of snow out of last night's storm which was much more than even the forecast had said but then, they were nearest to the top of the mountain here. Hawke looked back at the house and Caitlin, true to her word was sitting in the window seat watching Emily play.

"That look on your face earlier, String, have you and Caitlin had a conversation?"

"Yeah, upstairs. We talked and I guess you can say we are a couple now officially."

"How the hell did that happen?"

"Cait was upset, crying over Emily not being able to see her Granny tomorrow. It just got to her. When I was trying to comfort her I accidentally called her baby," Hawke admitted with a shrug. "I didn't even realize I said it. She called me on it and…I just came out and told her. In the bathroom of all places. My grandkids are going to ask, 'where did you tell grandma you loved her' and I'm gona have to say in the bathroom!"

Dom cracked up at that and shook his head. "So, you hope to have grandkids some day?"

"Yeah, Dom. Caitlin really is the one. I've tried to ignore it, run from it, convince myself I was making a mistake, tell myself she was too young for me but she's always been the one. Ever since I saw her walk into that jail, she was always the one."

"You wasted over two years of your life doing everything you could to not admit it to her. I'm glad you finally took my advice and not too late," Dom said happily.

"Me too."

Emily was struggling trying to lift the second big snowball for her snowman and Hawke and Dom ran over to help her. Caitlin had disappeared from the window and Hawke wondered where she went when he looked up but soon she was coming out of the cabin with her coat on and a stocking hat over her ears. "Figured you could use these," she said as she handed over a carrot and two big buttons. "I had the buttons in my suitcase in my mending kit."

Hawke grinned. The ever-prepared Caitlin. He handed the items to Emily to put in place once the head was on her snowman. Dom had some twig arms ready and she put those on too. Caitlin took off her stocking hat and put it on the snowman.

"I'm going to head back in before I get too cold. You did an amazing job on him, Emily!"

"Her, she's a snow woman!" Emily said happily and Caitlin laughed.

"Come on, bug. We better get back in too. You were way too cold this morning and you don't need to be out here much longer," Hawke said as he picked the girl up and settled her on his hip. He whistled for the dogs and they both came running up to the cabin with them.

Once inside, Caitlin set to work unwrapping Emily and had her sit by the fire to warm up. "Oh, your little nose is like an icicle!" she teased as the girl ran over and plopped down on the rug next to the dogs.

Dom put his hat and gloves on the window seat next to Hawke's gloves and hung his coat on the rack. "Great idea with the buttons and carrot."

"Yeah, figured she'd like that."

Hawke slid his arm around Caitlin's waist and gave her a brief kiss. "Oh, your nose is cold too!" Caitlin giggled and Hawke grinned at her.

Dom was pleased to see that kiss and the way the two were looking at each other. After a moment though his eyes slid to Emily and he wondered how the hell they were supposed to tell her that her granny wasn't going to be in her life anymore.

Hawke and Caitlin both noticed the pensive look on Dom's face and knew just what he was feeling.

"Together?" Caitlin said softly.

"Together." Hawke and Dom both answered.

Dom had to break the news to Sinjin and String when they were kids and both boys had reacted differently. Sinjin had gotten quiet and just ran to his room and cried while String, he'd ran out of the house and went up in the treehouse he had at his place for the boys when they came to visit. Dom had let both boys deal with it however they wanted. He'd let String stay in the treehouse until after dark that night. When he went up he found the boy cried out on the floor and picked him up and tucked him in bed. It was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, tell those boys their parents were gone.

When he'd gotten up that morning, both boys were in the same bed, Sinjin's arm locked around String's chest. He'd woken Sinjin and he said, "He started crying again so I had him get in with me. It's my job to protect him now."

"No, son. It's my job to protect you both," Dom had told him. He had done his best raising the two boys as a single parent. It wasn't ever easy and sure he made mistakes but they were both great kids and turned out to be equally great men. Wherever Sinjin was, if he was still alive, which String was sure of, he was sure he had become a great man too.

"Emily, sweetie, come here and sit on the couch with us," Caitlin invited and patted the cushion.

Emily got up and walked over to crawl up on the couch. Hawke picked her up and set her between he and Caitlin. They both turned to face her and Dom sat down on the coffee table in front of them.

"We need to tell you something," Caitlin began but seemed to be unable to say anything else.

"You see, bug, we need to explain what happened last night," Hawke said softly.

"It is something bad, isn't it? Granny wouldn't put me and Sally out a window like that." Emily asked.

"No, she wouldn't," Hawke said softly. "There was a bad man that broke into your house last night."

Emily blinked up at him and Hawke was suddenly feeling his heart jammed in his throat. Damn it, this was hard to do.

"Granny isn't going to be at church tomorrow, is she?" Emily asked.

Caitlin's breath caught in her throat and she looked down and took Emily's hand in hers. "No, sweetie. Granny, she went to heaven last night."

Emily's eyes filled with tears and she wiped at them with her free hand. "Like mommy and daddy?"

"Yeah, like your mom and dad," Hawke said softly.

Emily had known something really bad had happened, she didn't understand it or know why but she knew something was wrong. Granny liked Hawke and his friends but she'd have never sent her out in the snow at night like that unless something was wrong. Even Sally knew something was wrong, Emily could tell.

Caitlin reached over and grabbed the box of tissues she'd set there on purpose and wiped Emily's tears. "I know it hurts right now, sweetheart but just remember your mom and dad and your granny are all right here in your heart, sweetie. They'll always be watching over you and always love you," Caitlin whispered to her.

Emily started to cry harder as the realization really hit her and Hawke pulled her against his chest and just let her cry.

"Go ahead, bug, cry all you want," he whispered to her with tears on his own face and Caitlin put her hand on her back and started rubbing Emily's back as she cried as well. Dom was in tears too, it broke his heart to see this little girl so hurt.

"Uncle Hawke?" Emily asked sniffling and crying against his chest.

"Yeah, bug?"

"What's going to happen to me now?"

That he didn't have an immediate answer to and he looked at Caitlin and Dom. "Do you want to stay here with us, with Aunt Caitlin and I?" Hawke asked softly and Caitlin's breath caught again, this time she was staring wide eyed at Hawke.

"Could I? I like it here," Emily admitted crying harder.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't mean it, bug. You can stay here with us as long as you want," Hawke said, meaning every word of it. He caught Caitlin's hand in his and squeezed.

It was an unspoken but very clear invitation. They hadn't gone on a proper date yet but Caitlin understood him perfectly. Move in with him, help him with Emily. Be…a family. She returned the squeeze of his hand and nodded. Dom had witnessed the exchange and his heart though it was aching it also seemed to swell in his chest. Somehow, through all this pain maybe, just maybe there would be some sort of happiness to be had.

Emily cried until she was worn out, Hawke's shirt was soaked and he didn't care at all. She fell asleep after a while, and Hawke picked her up and carried her up to the loft. Caitlin followed and helped him put Emily in her pajamas and tuck the child in. Hawke suggested that Caitlin should stay with her and she reluctantly agreed. She wanted desperately to talk to Hawke about this next step in their relationship but Emily needed her. She lay down and pulled Emily close and Hawke leaned down and gave Caitlin a soft kiss on the lips. "I meant it. I want you both here with me."

"I know." Caitlin smiled up at him before he left the loft.

Dom was standing by the fireplace with a cup of coffee in his hands when Hawke came back down. Hawke headed to the coffee pot, almost wanting something stronger but coffee would do.

"How did you manage it with Sinjin and me?" Hawke asked as he went back to the living room.

"I was scared to death," Dom admitted.

Hawke nodded. He felt the same but someone had to be there for Emily, that girl had been through so much in her four years and she needed stability, someone to count on. Hawke couldn't imagine someone more dependable than Dom and Caitlin in her life. He could maybe talk with Michael about Airwolf, he wasn't sure what would happen but Emily needed them. He couldn't let some strangers take her into foster care. He just couldn't do that, he was already thinking a lot about settling down with Caitlin, he wasn't getting any younger. Hell, forty was just a few years down the road. Maybe it was time to give up the Lady for a different adventure. Sinjin might still be out there, or he might be dead. Either way, he knew his brother wouldn't want him to keep his life on hold forever. He wasn't sure how to make the choice but Emily was here, right now, she needed a family. Maybe he could still keep the search for Sinjin going with Michael, they'd become friends over the years. He had to do the responsible thing and that was taking care of Emily.

"Dom, if I have to, for that little girl, I'd give up Airwolf," he said seriously.

Dom was torn, he loved that little girl too but another part of him wanted to protest giving up the Lady but it was ultimately String's decision. "It is up to you, String. I'll respect any decision you come to, no matter what. You might talk it over with Michael tomorrow. I'm sure he'll come up with something," Dom said putting his hand on his foster son's shoulder. "You know, I couldn't help but think you'd sort of asked Caitlin to move in with you?"

"Yeah, it was spur of the moment but it just seems right. Emily is going to need two parents, I know she just had Granny the last few years but she's been through so much and she needs stability. Neither Caitlin or I could stand the idea of her going into foster care. I don't even have to talk to Cait about it, I know her feelings about Emily."

"I'm proud of you, String. I know I don't say it often, but you know how proud I am of you don't you? You've become a better man than I could ever have imagined. Your parents would be so proud of you too," Dom said with his eyes tearing up a bit. String's parents were his best friends and he knew that they would be incredibly proud of their youngest son.

"I had a good role model," Hawke said seriously to the man he considered a father to him.

Dom chuckled then and shook his head. "And just yesterday you were complaining that you hadn't even had a date with her yet and now she's moving in."

Hawke sighed. "Fate decided to throw me a curve ball."

"You'll still hit it out of the park, kid," Dom said before taking a sip of his coffee.

Hawke collapsed on the couch and set his mug on the end table. Sally and Tet came up to him and he rubbed both dog's heads while he sat there. "What a day it's been. It was sometime around three when the dogs woke me. It has been an exhausting day, Dom."

"Yeah, the sun hasn't even set yet either," Dom commented. "Dinner's on me huh? I'll fix us something in a little while. Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest too? I'm sure Caitlin won't mind."

"I guess so," Hawke said with a heavy sigh. He got up and put his mug in the sink before heading upstairs. He pulled off his shirt and shoes and slid into the bed behind Cait and wrapped his arm around her and Emily.

"String?" Caitlin whispered.

"Shh, just go back to sleep," he whispered in return and she snuggled back against him a little. It felt good holding her in his arms.

Dom finished his coffee and then went and cleaned up the kitchen from their late breakfast and did the dishes. He looked in the fridge to see what he could come up with for dinner and then settled back down on the couch for a while to think.


	4. Chapter 4

When Hawke woke later, the sun had set and he slowly disentangled himself from holding the girls. Caitlin rolled onto her back and looked up at him.

"Hey, you," she whispered. "I almost thought I was dreaming that you were holding me."

"Hey, yourself," Hawke whispered and leaned down to kiss her soundly. "Not a dream."

"Hmmm, that's debatable," Caitlin said with a grin. Hawke flicked her nose with his fingertip and smiled at her.

"I'll be downstairs," he whispered.

"I'll be down shortly," she replied as she watched him put his shirt and shoes back on. The man had no idea how damn sexy he was, she thought.

Her clothes were horribly rumpled and she figured she might as well just get dressed for bed anyway. She got her nightgown and robe and put those on with warm socks and then went and woke up Emily.

She ushered her off to the bathroom and then brushed her hair and then set to work brushing Emily's. Caitlin pulled the child's hair up into pig tails and they went back downstairs.

Dom grinned when he saw them coming down. "You girls look comfortable."

"I figured there was no reason to get dressed since it is so late. Where's String?" Caitlin asked as she accepted a mug of tea from Dom. She'd been coughing a little while she was getting Emily changed. Hawke must have made it for her, he was the only one who made this sort of tea.

"He's bringing in some firewood for the night, we got a few more inches of snow this evening," Dom said as he started washing some potatoes.

"You need a hand with anything?"

"Nope, you girls just go sit in the living room and relax. Let us take care of you," Dom said cheerfully.

Caitlin coughed a few times and settled down on the couch with Emily snuggled up with her. The child was still tired, the early morning race through the snow, the near hypothermia and the crying this afternoon had well and truly worn the child out. She was quiet but stayed snuggled close to Caitlin, just enjoying being near her.

Hawke came in a short time later with a large armful of firewood and the dogs came bounding over to lick Emily's hand. It elicited a slight giggle out of her and then she sighed and buried her face into Cait's shoulder.

"You okay?" Caitlin asked and she felt Emily nod against her.

Hawke raised an eyebrow and Cait shook her head. "She's been a bit quiet," Caitlin said softly and he nodded.

"String, I know you aren't much on church but…would it be okay to maybe take her in the morning? Dom and I could take her. I think she needs her normal routine, at least a little bit of it," Caitlin said softly.

"I'm not sure. I mean…everyone knows what if it just upsets her worse ya know?" Hawke said softly in return.

"No. I don't wanna go. God hates me," Emily blurted out and Caitlin gasped.

"Oh, no sweetie, God doesn't hate you!" Caitlin said sitting up and looking at Emily.

"Then why does he let everyone I love die?" Emily blurted and Hawke felt like a knife had just been driven into his heart. He'd thought the same thing for years, pushing everyone away and hiding from the world. He still felt that way at times but he realized finally that it wasn't true.

Emily jumped up and ran back up to the loft and Hawke shrugged out of his coat and gloves. Caitlin started to stand up but Hawke put his hand on her shoulder. "I think this one I should handle," he whispered and then leaned down and kissed her softly. "Don't worry."

Caitlin gave him such a sad look that Hawke kissed her again. "Don't worry."

Dom came into the living room wiping his hands on a towel. "If anyone knows how she feels right now, it's String. He'll be able to help her more than either of us can," he said reasonably.

"Oh, Dom. Neither one of them should have to know what this feels like."

He couldn't agree with her more.

Emily was sitting in the middle of the bed, crying into her knees drawn up to her chest.

Hawke sat down and pulled her over to him and wrapped his arm around her. "You know, Emily. I used to think the same thing you do. That God hated me because he always let those I love die too," Hawke said softly.

He heard her crying hitch and she looked up him with big wide eyes. "What you mean?"

"Well, you know, Dom isn't my dad, right?" Hawke asked.

"Yeah, you don't have the same last name," Emily said and Hawke was surprised yet again at how smart Emily really was. Granny had told him that she was a voracious reader and could read already at a third-grade level in books. Her vocabulary alone and articulateness for her age were beyond what he'd expected from a four-year-old.

"Right, but Dom raised me and my brother Sinjin since we were just boys. I was only 10 when we went to live with Dom. Our parents died in an accident and since we didn't have any other family my parents had named him our guardian," Hawke explained. "Then my girlfriend in high school, died in a car wreck. I started to wonder why this kept happening to those I care about. Then my brother Sinjin and I went off to war. We got separated and we aren't sure if he is alive or not. We never found him."

Emily hugged him tight and looked up at him with so much sadness in her teary eyes. "So, I started thinking that God didn't care, at least not about me. I started to think I was cursed to always lose the people I love the most. I lost a few more people over the years, friends and another girlfriend and I thought the curse was truly real. I pushed everyone away. I was afraid to love anyone, afraid to get close to them because I was afraid they'd end up the way the others I loved ended up. But then I met Caitlin. I fell in love with her the first time I talked to her. But I forced those feelings away, I ignored them and tried to tell myself I couldn't love her. That I shouldn't love her. So, for a long time I tried, but Dom and something I read recently and Caitlin herself made me realize that just because I hadn't told her how I felt didn't mean I loved her any less, so where did that put this curse I had? Shouldn't it have taken her away too? And it could have a couple of times but it didn't. Caitlin is a strong, smart woman and she can take care of herself. My curse only existed in my mind. I love other people too and they are still here. They are good friends, people I consider family and they are still here. Dom is still here. So, I began to realize that I'm not cursed and God doesn't hate me. Bad things just sometimes happen to good people is all. Do you understand what I'm saying, Emily?"

Emily was looking up at Hawke with wide eyes realizing that she had a lot in common with the man and maybe that was why she always liked being around him. Granny had said he was a good man with a good heart but that had been hurt a lot in his life. She understood what she had meant now.

"Yes, and I guess there are just so many people on the world that God can't be there all the time for every single person I guess," Emily said.

"No. He was with you this morning when you were in the woods," Hawke said softly.

"So, he was so busy helping me, he couldn't help Granny too?" That nearly broke his heart completely in two when she said that.

"No. No, bug, he was helping her too but it was a very, very bad man who broke in, Emily. Someone that is very, very…disturbed. Something is very wrong with him," Hawke said trying to be as delicate as possible.

"Like the Devil?"

"Something like that, bug. So, it is okay to grieve and miss granny and your parents but they weren't taken from you on purpose, okay? You aren't being punished and God doesn't hate you, sweetheart. And none of this, none of it is your fault." Hawke said softly.

Emily sniffled and Hawke pulled her closer into a hug. "You don't have to go to church tomorrow if you don't want to. I promise, God won't be mad at you if you don't go," Hawke assured her.

"Okay, I think. I think I want to stay here with you and Aunt Cait and Uncle Dom," Emily said softly into his shirt.

"That's fine, bug. We'd love that."

He sat with her for a little while until he felt the tension loosen from little shoulders and then he picked her up and carried her back downstairs. Caitlin looked worried so he just smiled at her and gave her a slight nod. He could see the relieved breath she let out and settled down on the couch with Emily still wrapped around him.

"She wants to stay home with us all tomorrow," he said softly and Caitlin nodded.

"Okay, well then how about Emily and I use up the rest of those chocolate chips and bake some cookies tomorrow?"

Emily looked up from where her face was buried and nodded, she was still sad but she really loved to bake cookies, granny always made them with her. "I like to make cookies."

"I like to eat cookies," Hawke said with a grin and it worked to get a small grin out of the girl.

Caitlin leaned over and gave Hawke a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered and he smiled at her.

Dom was watching surreptitiously from the kitchen as he cooked and he thought that even though it was a hell of a rough start for them, they sure did make a sweet family. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure it stayed that way too.

The night before, Hawke hadn't bothered with making the couch out into a bed, though he'd bought it specifically for company last year. The old couch hadn't been great to sleep on anyway and he'd started having people staying at the cabin more so he'd invested in a couch that made into a bed. He'd been too tired to bother last night plus he didn't mind sleeping on just the couch anyway. It wouldn't however agree with Dom's back so tonight it would be used.

He'd also been considering adding onto the cabin. There was more than enough room on the south side of the cabin to add on a couple of bedrooms and a bathroom. They had enough acreage to add a barn and paddock if Caitlin wanted to bring her horse up from Texas too. He supposed that was getting ahead of himself again but Caitlin had said she missed her horse Ranger many times over the years and he liked horses. He could see having one to ride around on the mountain.

He helped Dom set up the bed to be comfortable for the night and then he went upstairs to join the girls who were already snuggled in bed where Caitlin was reading a story to Emily.

They were all emotionally and physically exhausted. Dinner had been rather quiet, but Dom's cooking and jovial attitude seemed to have helped them all feel just a little better. He slipped into the bathroom to shower, shave and put on a tank top and sweatpants for bed. He wasn't fond of sleeping in a shirt but at least a tank top won't feel too restricting. He stoked the fireplace in the bedroom and then crawled into the big bed next to Caitlin. "Whatcha reading?" he asked.

"At the Back of the North Wind," Emily answered.

"Which of the stories?" Hawke asked, remembering the book.

"Little Daylight," Caitlin answered. "It has always been my favorite and seems Emily likes it too."

"Hmm, I remember that one," he said softly. He recalled that the princess was cursed to only sleep during the day and be awake all night, and she waxed and waned with the moon. She was at her most beautiful and energetic on the night of the full moon. Hawke put his arm around Caitlin and Emily and listened as Caitlin told the story. He discovered that this was what his heart had always been longing for. It was the contentment of having a family, a woman he loved, his father figure just downstairs and a little girl he adored even before now but now, even more so. In a single day, his entire life had turned upside down and inside out and though the way in which it happened was horrible it was also a sort of wonderful he never realized he truly needed.

Emily was soon asleep and Caitlin settled her down into the bed more and put the bookmark in place in the large book. She handed it to Hawke and he set it on the nightstand and turned the light out. The two snuggled down in the bed and his fingers threaded with Caitlin's.

"I love you, Caitlin," he whispered softly into the dark.

"I love you too, String," she whispered in return.

When morning came, Hawke was laying on his stomach with a weight on his back and something tickling the back of his ear, he cracked one eye open and smiled at Caitlin who was smiling at him.

"Bug, what are you doing on my back?" Hawke asked and he felt and heard the little girl giggle.

"Trying to wake you up, you sure aren't very ticklish," she answered back.

"No. My brother cured me of that when I was not much older than you," he grinned.

"Cured you?" Caitlin asked.

"I'm immune to tickling because of him," he said reaching back and grabbing a little leg and pulling Emily over onto the bed between him and Caitlin. "Do you want me to see if you are ticklish?"

Emily squealed and put her hands up as if in defense, but Hawke tickled her tummy anyway and she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Sounds like someone is awake up there!" Dom called from downstairs and Hawke let Emily get up and run to the rail on the loft.

"We all are Uncle Dom, took forever to wake up Uncle String!" she announced and then bounded down the stairs with the energy only a 4-year-old could have.

"I guess she's feeling a little better this morning," Hawke said slipping his hand behind his head as he looked up at Caitlin.

"Yeah, she was still a little reserved when she first woke up but once I set her to trying to wake you up her mood improved," Caitlin said with a smile.

"Glad to be of service then," he laughed.

"Hmm, you don't usually sleep that heavily but I guess you were pretty tired too."

"More like content I think. Caitlin, I know I sort of sprung a lot on you yesterday. Do you want to move in here with me? Do you want to…to be a real family with me and with Emily?" Hawke asked seriously.

"More than anything, String. I've loved you for so long and we've known each other for two years I mean…it might seem sudden but really what is the point of dating for us? We already know each other, we already love each other. We've been through life and death situations, we've been as close as many couples never get to be. After all we've been through together, I'm not sure we could date like regular people…and Emily needs us. She needs a family," Caitlin answered.

"Not too fast then?"

"Hell, String I've waited for you for two years, it's not fast enough!" Caitlin teased and he surged up and rolled on top of her, kissing her deeply until they were both breathless.

"I love you and I do want this, more than anything. I was thinking about adding on to the cabin, hell, I even thought of building a barn and paddock so you can bring Ranger up here from your folk's place in Texas. I…I don't know what the hell is going on with me lately but I just hell, I'm willing to give up Airwolf if I have to so we can have a normal life," he told her seriously.

"String…are you sure?"

"If I have to, to keep you and Emily safe I'd do anything," Hawke said softly. "This is it for me. I've finally realized that Cait. I'll be forty in four years, it is time for me to let go of the ghosts and get on with the life I've always wanted. The family I've wanted," Hawke admitted.

"I want that too. I have to admit I've thought about it more than once, having a family with you, String," Caitlin admitted. "You are going to be a wonderful father to Emily, you're already making a good start on that."

He smiled and kissed her again but was interrupted with a loud bang in the kitchen and Emily giggling wildly.

"I think Dom dropped something," Caitlin laughed.

"Knowing him, it was on purpose," Hawke grumbled and moved off of Caitlin so she could get up. God, it had felt good having her under him though. Her body fit perfectly with his.

He waited a few moments after she had gathered her clothes and disappeared into the bathroom to get up and dressed himself. Being that close to Caitlin's soft body had done a number on his own. Once he was decent he made the bed and headed downstairs.

"About time you got up, where's Caitlin?"

"She's still getting dressed. You need any help?"

"Nah, we've got it," Dom said as he pointed to Emily who was sitting on a bar stool in front of the toaster. Apparently, that was her job this morning helping with toast.

"All right, you let the dogs out this morning already?"

"All done, I've been up a few hours. They've been fed, let out for a walk and I even brought in more firewood," Dom said.

"Oh, reminds me I need to take some upstairs for the loft fireplace," Hawke said grabbing his jacket and doing just that. He figured that while he was up there he would do something to hopefully show Caitlin he really meant what he said about her moving in with them. He planned to make room in his closet and dresser for hers and Emily's clothing.

Caitlin came back downstairs just as Hawke was returning inside, stamping snow off his boots.

"Did it snow more?"

"Yep, a couple more inches at least. I've never seen it snow this much up here. Crazy winter we're having," Hawke said as he carried the wood upstairs. She stopped him at the first step and gave him a small kiss on the lips.

"What was that for?"

"Just felt like it," Caitlin said with a smile.

"Hmm, you can feel like that anytime you like."

She grinned broadly and nodded. "Good to know."

"I haven't heard you coughing as much, Cait. Sounds like you're finally getting over it," Dom commented as he whisked some eggs in a bowl.

"Finally," Caitlin said. "Maybe I just needed this mountain air."

"Or maybe you just needed some TLC from a certain fella," Dom said with a grin and Caitlin blushed and laughed.

"Could be that too," she agreed as she poured a cup of coffee.

"Has String talked to you about…his plans?"

"Hmm, a little bit. He'll need to talk to Michael when he gets here this morning," Dom said giving her a look.

"Yeah. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that but it sure says a lot about his level of commitment doesn't it?"

"It does indeed," Dom agreed and set to work making a huge veggie and cheese omelet.

Caitlin worried that giving up Airwolf would be a harder choice than Hawke seemed to think it would be. She also couldn't imagine anyone else flying her, not long term. Sure, she and Dom had flown her and even Doc but none of them had the affinity for Airwolf the way that Hawke did. Would he come to regret giving her up? Would he end up resenting his new life in some way? That is what worried her, as much as he said he liked a simple life, here at the cabin he did love adventure too. Although, this new life could be an adventure as well. A child certainly would not be boring, especially one like Emily who normally was a vivacious and adventurous little thing.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Dom asked as he was plating up breakfast.

"Hmm, oh, nothing. Just thinking about String and Emily is all," Caitlin admitted.

Dom nodded and reached across the bar to squeeze her hand. "Don't worry, it'll all work out in the end."

Caitlin smiled at him and nodded.

Emily hopped down from her stool and almost overturned it, making Dom turn around to catch it. "Hey, kiddo, you're brave, aren't you?" he teased as he set the bar stool back upright.

"Sorry, I finished the toast though!" she said pointing to a plate of toast that was messily stacked with a tad too much butter but hey, she did good for a kid her age.

"You did a great job with it too!" Dom commented as he handed the plate to Caitlin. She went over and put it on the table and the three of them set the table.

"I thought he was just putting firewood up there?" Caitlin said as she finished taking the silverware from Emily to place on the table.

"Hey, String, you get lost up there?" Dom called.

"No. I was taking care of something, be down in a sec!" he called back as he finished stuffing some of his clothes he didn't wear that often into his old footlocker. "I'm definitely going to need to add on to the cabin, Emily can't sleep on the couch and she certainly can't sleep up here with us forever," he murmured to himself.

He came back down just as everyone was sitting down to eat. He stopped on the stairs and crooked his head to the side. "Michael's here."

"Well he's just gona have to watch us eat, omelets are no good cold!" Dom barked as he grabbed his napkin.

Hawke laughed and joined them at the table. "Yeah, he knows his way in."

Michael Coldsmith-Briggs the third stood in the doorway for a moment as he took in the family scene in front of him. It pained him to think what that poor little girl sitting next to Hawke and Caitlin had been through in the last 36 hours.

"Good morning!" he called as he walked in. "Sorry to interrupt your breakfast."

"No problem, come sit at the bar and talk to us," Dom said. "I didn't make extras but you can grab some toast and coffee."

"I've had my breakfast already but I will take a cup of coffee. Smells pretty good though," Michael said as he went to get a cup from the cabinet.

Emily didn't know the man all dressed in white with a black patch like a pirate over his eye. He walked with a cane and she wondered if like a pirate he had a wooden leg too? "Veggie, cheese mmlets!" Emily said, not quite getting omelet out but close enough. She cocked her head to the side as she regarded the man. "I thought pirates wore black?"

Everyone paused and then Hawke started to laugh followed by Dom and Caitlin.

"Well, I'm not a pirate," Michael said with a chuckle, "But I can see where you got the idea."

She smiled at him, he seemed nice enough. The man sat down at the bar and leaned his cane against it as she watched him over her toast.

"I'm being surveilled over here. I'm a good friend of Hawke's, we work together," he explained to the cute little girl. She was a pretty little thing, wearing pink pajamas with little kittens on them and sitting on her knees at the table to be high enough to reach. She had jet black hair with unusually light blue eyes. Such an innocent child to be touched by so much darkness.

"Oh, do you fly hellocopters too?" she said not quite getting helicopters right but close enough.

"Sometimes," he admitted.

"I've never been in one but it looks like a lot of fun," she said and then took another bite of her meal.

"It certainly can be a lot of fun, if you are going to be hanging around with these three I'm sure you'll get a ride in one soon enough," Michael said smiling at the child.

Hawke grinned over his coffee mug as he thought that Michael had just passed muster with little Emily. He ate the last few bites of his meal, and pushed back from the table. "I need to have a discussion with Michael, we'll be back soon," he said.

Caitlin watched him go and sighed with a worried look at Dom who just shook his head.


	5. Chapter 5

The two men stepped out onto the porch, it was cold but not windy today. "Your lab got anything yet?"

"Not yet but they just got the samples yesterday evening, the FBI sent over a few other pieces of evidence from the other four crime scenes too. Our labs should be faster than the FBI ones back in D.C. those folks are stretched pretty thin lately," Michael explained.

"Faster they can get something together on this the better. I'd hoped the snow would have slowed this maniac down but he just changed his MO to adapt to it," Hawke said with a sigh.

"I read some of the preliminary reports that Jason Gideon and David Rossi sent in, said he is a need based killer. An uncontrollable rage and drive to kill, almost in a frenzy. That is the one thing that offers some advantage, he isn't methodical, leaves evidence behind that will eventually lead to him but right now they don't have nearly enough to go on. The evidence though will be enough to nail him once they figure out who it is," Michael explained.

"I could tell they were both frustrated with this case. They want this guy and they aren't particularly worried about justice on this one through the legal system if you get my meaning. I think they are both of the mindset of if they have to shoot to kill they will and won't bat an eye about it," Hawke said looking out toward the lake.

"Can't say I blame them from what I've seen of the crime scene photos," Michael agreed and took a long drink from his coffee.

"So, what are you going to do about the girl? We did a check, she really doesn't have any family that could take her. I hate to see her end up in the system," Michael said shaking his head at the thought.

"Caitlin and I want to adopt her," Hawke said then startling Michael a little.

"Caitlin and you want to adopt her? Is there a Caitlin and you?" Michael asked curiously.

"Yeah. Caitlin is moving in, I want to add on some rooms here on the south side and we both want to raise Emily," Hawke explained.

"I see. I'm glad you and Caitlin have finally gotten together, Hawke. We've all known how you both feel about each other for a long time. But…what about Airwolf? I mean you can't just go off on a mission and leave the child alone here like you do with Tet," Michael asked.

Hawke laughed and shook his head. "You only need two people to operate Airwolf, just one in a pinch, but I am getting older, Michael. I'm 36, almost 37 now. I want this with Caitlin and Emily."

"What about our deal? What about Sinjin?" Michael asked.

"Maybe it's time I let go of some of those ghosts, Michael? The only men who've been returning have been in boxes. I am starting to think it is time. I've spent the last 18 years looking for him. The FIRM with all its resources can't find him. Maybe it is time to end our agreement," Hawke said softly.

"You'll give up Airwolf?" Michael asked shocked.

"I might not have a choice. That little girl has lost enough, Michael. It was fine when it was just me but now there is Caitlin and Emily to think about. I'm not invincible," Hawke said looking at his friend seriously.

"No, but you are the best damn pilot I've ever known, Hawke. To be honest, I don't think anyone could pilot her as well as you," Michael said honestly.

"Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that what I do is dangerous," Hawke said, tossing the dregs of his now cold coffee, out into the snow.

"I'll be honest, I don't know who else to trust with her," Michael said in return. "There have been so many turncoats, so many plots to steal her that I just don't know anyone I'd trust her with than you."

That gave Hawke pause. He would rather not let her fall into the wrong hands again. "It's been three years, how much does the FIRM really still want her back?"

"Well, her systems are starting to become outdated," Michael said rubbing his mustache.

"I don't mind doing the scientific stuff with her, search and rescue, that sort of thing but missions into hot spots, behind enemy lines and civil war those are going to have to be off the table. I don't mind providing cover for Zebra Squad for example, but I don't want to be on the ground anymore. If I'm in the Lady I'm safer, so are Dom and Caitlin," Hawke explained.

"So, you'll be officially working for the FIRM again in an air support and scientific capacity only?" Michael asked.

"Would the committee accept that? Would you be able to still look for Sinjin too? Would that be enough, Michael?" Hawke needed to know if Michael thought this could work.

"I think I can make it work. As I said, her computer systems are quickly becoming outdated and the political climate right now…things are starting to cool an awful lot between the U.S. and Russia. The world is changing so it might be possible to find a new mandate for Airwolf," Michael explained. "To be honest, I'd feel better leaving her in your hands, Hawke. You're the only man I know I can trust. I know that the Admiral is behind you no matter what and so is General Benson now, not to mention Senator Ames and Senator Gilson." The two senators were on the armed services committee and had been very supportive of Hawke as the pilot and custodian of Airwolf. Michael also had a few ideas up his sleeve that he'd been holding off on, not the least of which a new improved Airwolf but only under his direction. No interference from the FIRM's upper echelons.

Maybe this could work? Less dangerous missions would be fine with him if Michael could swing something with the committee.

"I need to ask another favor, I know that the state is going to want to put Emily in foster care. Is there any way you can intervene and make sure she stays with us? I don't want her bouncing around the system," Hawke explained.

"Yes, I can look into it and see what I can do on that front as well," Michael said. "I know I've asked you for a ton of favors over the years and you've always pulled through for me, now it's my turn to make sure to return the favor."

"Thank you, Michael," Hawke said offering his hand to him. They shook hands and then Michael pulled Hawke into a surprised hug.

"You are going to be a great father to that little girl, Hawke," he said softly before he released him.

Hawke was a bit taken aback by the gesture but smiled at his friend. "I hope so."

When they returned inside, Emily was dressed now in a red sweatshirt that had a reindeer on it and another pair of jeans with a heart patch on the knee. She was wearing her fuzzy slippers and following Caitlin around the room as she was straightening up a little. Caitlin had gotten dressed as well and Hawke was pleased to see her color was back to normal, she wasn't nearly as pale as she had been the last few days and her eyes looked brighter. He'd noticed her cough had lessened too, she still had a few coughing bouts but she was doing better.

"I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to defrost you two, get over by the fire to warm up," Caitlin said as both men's noses and cheeks were red from the cold.

"Yes, ma'am!" Hawke said with a grin as he took off his jacket, scarf and gloves. Michael did the same and they both headed to the fireplace.

Caitlin took their mugs. "You want refills?"

"Nah, I'm good," Hawke said and Michael thanked her and said no as well.

Emily was practically attached to Caitlin's hip so she turned and asked her to take the cups to Dom in the kitchen where he was washing up from breakfast.

"Everything discussed?" she asked as Emily skipped away and Hawke slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"Everything settled," he said.

"I hear congratulations are in order. Once you get moved in, Caitlin I'll bring over a nice bottle of champagne for a housewarming toast," Michael said with a smile, happy to see the two pilots had finally gotten together. He knew it was mostly Hawke who had to do the bending on this, the spy wasn't sure what had changed his friend's mind but it was clear as he looked at the couple that they were meant to be together.

Caitlin's happy smile made Hawke's heart swell in his chest. Ever since he made the decision to let Caitlin in, to tell her how he truly felt, he'd felt so much better, so much warmth and contentment that he knew he had made the right decision for a change.

"I'm also going to make sure that Emily stays in both your custody," Michael said then and was surprised by the happy hug that Caitlin gave him.

"Oh, Michael thank you so much!" she said with a kiss on his cheek.

Hawke looked at his watch and sighed. "We might need to talk to Emily, the FBI guys will be here soon."

That certainly put a damper on things but it was necessary.

"Emily, honey can you come in here?" Caitlin asked. The girl was in the kitchen talking animatedly with Dom about something.

The girl, nodded and ran to the living room as Caitlin sat down on the couch and patted the cushion beside her. Instead of crawling on the couch though, Emily crawled right into her lap and leaned her head against Caitlin's shoulder.

"Well, hello there," Caitlin said and hugged the girl to her. Hawke and Michael couldn't help but smile at the pair.

"Hey, bug," Hawke said sitting down and putting the girl's legs across his lap. "We are going to have a visit soon from some police men, they need to ask you some questions about what happened the other night. Anything you remember from when Granny woke you, okay? We hate to have to ask you to remember all that but it might help them find the bad man who did this."

"So, he can't send anyone else to heaven?" Emily asked seriously. The question made even a hardened spy like Michael swallow hard. That was a terrible understanding for a four-year-old to have.

"Yeah, kiddo. Anything you remember might help them figure out who did this so they can put them in jail, okay? Do you understand what that is?" Hawke asked, he knew Emily was a smart child but she was only four after all.

"It's a place where people who do bad things go, like a really, really long time out," she said and Caitlin laughed softly.

"Yeah, just like that. It's a place where they stay and hopefully learn not to be bad anymore," Caitlin explained as delicately as she could.

Emily leaned her head back against Caitlin's shoulder and just sat quietly for a while enjoying the woman's hug and the scent of her perfume. Every once in a while, she'd feel Uncle String squeeze her leg and she was content to just sit with them in front of the warm fire. She missed her Granny so much but everyone here had made her feel important to them. Just like Granny always made her feel.

Her mind drifted as the adults talked and she just tried to remember everything that happened so she could tell the police men when they came.

It wasn't long before Hawke picked up the sound of snowmobiles. He gently slid Emily's legs off his lap and went to the door to greet them.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Hawke said in welcome. Jason Gideon walked up and offered his hand in a firm handshake.

"Morning, Hawke. We wish we didn't have to do this," Gideon admitted. It was always hard to talk to kids especially ones this young.

"I know," Hawke said, shaking Rossi's outstretched hand as well. "We did give her a little warning, told her that you'd be coming to talk to her. She seems to understand to a point. Just, don't push her too hard on anything, yesterday evening was pretty rough on her. She accused God of spending too much time on protecting her and not having enough time to help Granny…so, just tread carefully. I talked to her but she's still pretty reserved today."

Rossi gasped and shook his head. "Poor kid. Yeah, we'll be as gentle as we can."

He led the men into the house, they were surprised to see a FIRM agent there. They knew who he was, Archangel was known well in the D.C. area due to the various testimonies he'd given on several cases and committees. He was a man with the ear of the President and they were shocked to see him of all people here. Hawke did more than just security and piloting for the FIRM, that much was certain now.

"Mr. Coldsmith-Briggs, a bit shocked to see you here," Gideon said offering his hand to the spy.

"Hawke is a close friend," Michael said with a nod of understanding passing between the two FBI men and himself. "You can call me Michael if you like."

"Well, Michael," Rossi said shaking his hand. "Good to meet you, I'm David Rossi, this is Jason Gideon."

Emily had looked up at the new people and she thought they looked rather nice, they seemed to be friendly and know Uncle String's friend somehow.

"And you must be Caitlin," Rossi said with a smile at the cute redhead.

"Yes, and this is Emily," she answered, introducing the little girl in her lap.

Rossi lowered himself onto the coffee table in front of the girl and Caitlin. "Hi, Emily. You can call me Dave if you want to. My friend Jason and I have some questions for you. Do you think it would be all right if we asked them? You don't have to answer anything you don't feel like answering or can't answer okay, sweetheart?"

"Hello," Emily said softly. "I'll try."

It took over an hour but Rossi and Gideon carefully posed their questions as to not upset Emily and got what little she had overheard. She described her grandmother as worried and scared and that she dressed her quickly, barely giving her time to wake up. Her grandmother had dropped her out the second-floor window on top of the large woodpile out back of the cabin. That sealed any theory that the intruder came in that way. They knew he hadn't but it closed that loophole. Her granny had tried to go out the window behind her but it was obvious from the child's description that the woman had ran out of time. Emily had heard the gunshots which she described as firecrackers. She knew her granny was scared and told her to run as fast as she could. She'd told Emily not to look back, so the little girl did as she was told.

When the interview was over, Rossi patted the girl's hand. "You did very well, Emily. Very well. Thank you for your help."

"I hope you catch the bad man," Emily said seriously and Caitlin hugged her to her chest.

"We will, sweetheart. We will," Rossi answered and stood up.

He and Gideon walked over to the bar to sit down with Hawke and the other men. They introduced themselves to Mr. Santini and accepted the coffee the man offered.

"She didn't really see or hear much," Gideon said and then took a sip of the warm coffee.

"No, but that is for the best," Rossi said. "Much less traumatic that way. We didn't intend to get a solid lead from this but her story does corroborate the evidence and that can be very important to close any holes in the case."

The other three men nodded in agreement.

"What is going to be done about her living arrangements?" Gideon asked.

"She'll be staying here with Caitlin and myself, we are working on the details now," Hawke explained.

The two FBI men now understood why Archangel was there. Likely he'd be using his sway with the powers that be to make sure Hawke and his girlfriend got custody.

"Any suspects yet?" Hawke asked.

"No names but we believe it is a transient. Someone living in the woods from some of the evidence we've picked up over the cases. With the weather like it is right now, we are keeping a watch on the vacant holiday cabins in the area, in case he seeks shelter in one," Gideon admitted.

"I would be glad to offer any security equipment you might need, very discreet equipment," Michael said in response.

"You'd offer us FIRM equipment?"

"We may have an international mandate but domestic cases are important too, especially in a situation like this of serial murders. I can get you some equipment and a monitoring staff. The challenge is everything up here is so remote," Michael answered.

"Hawke, you said you'd like to help in some way. Your pilot skills might be helpful in getting us into remote areas, not to mention I bet you know this mountain like the back of your hand," Gideon said then and Dom spoke up.

"I'm willing to fly too. We can't leave Emily alone but I know Caitlin would fly as well if she was needed," Dom said then.

"She flies too?"

"Former pilot for Texas Highway Patrol and she works at Santini Air as a stunt pilot and flight instructor," Hawke explained.

"Well, we could sure use the help. Our little department doesn't always have things like air support in the budget on a case like this. We are still called the B.S. department and they don't mean Behavioral Science if you get my drift," Rossi admitted.

Everyone chuckled at that and Hawke smiled at the two FBI men. "You've got our help, anything you need."

"Marella would be glad to fly too if you need her, I can have her on standby at the FIRM. She's done air rescue in the past plus she is a certified physician if it is needed," Michael explained.

"Doc!" Dom said and looked at Hawke.

"Yeah, I bet he'd like to help too if he isn't too busy. It might be pretty busy up there though. I'll see if I can raise him on the radio now," Hawke said and went over to the radio.

The two FBI men were confused and Dom filled them in on their medic friend Jason Gifford also known as Doc.

"Doc said he'd be glad to bring his chopper down from Crystal Lake. He can just stay here and visit a while with us. Man, I wish I already had those extra rooms added. My cabin is becoming a bed and breakfast," Hawke laughed and so did Dom.

"Never thought I'd see the day, kid," Dom admitted, worried that Hawke would always be reclusive and now suddenly he wasn't. Circumstance and a change in the younger man had made Hawke much more open than he used to be. Dom used to really worry about him, especially the way he retreated to the cabin for days on end alone.

"Doc can have the sofa bed tomorrow, because I've got to get back to work in the morning," Dom admitted. He still had a business to run.

"Yeah, would it be okay to take Caitlin and Emily with you tomorrow? Caitlin wants to get back to work and Emily will be safe at the hanger with ya'll or you could have her go and spend some time at Meg's daycare, then just bring them home in the evening. We can have a nice meal together, I'll cook this time since you've been doing it all weekend," Hawke suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Dom said with a smile.

"Great. I know you gentlemen need to get back to work on your case, Doc and I will start doing some exploring in the area tomorrow. See if we can pick up any evidence of someone around the area that is spending time in caves and that sort of thing. I know how to gather evidence if we find any," Hawke told the pair and they both nodded.

"Not going to ask how or why on the evidence gathering, but you aren't just a pilot and security for the FIRM," Gideon said with a knowing smile.

"No, you are right about that, gentlemen but…we aren't at liberty to say," Michael explained.

"Don't tell me, you could tell us but you'd have to kill us," Rossi said with a deadpan grin.

"Something like that," Michael answered.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Caitlin, Dom and Emily were up and dressed early, and Hawke was serving breakfast this time. Caitlin packed a few snacks, some of the cookies she and Emily had made the day before and some of the fruit that Dom had brought up to the cabin.

It was quite a domestic scene, Caitlin packing for Emily while Hawke made scrambled eggs and bacon. It was one of the few meats he would eat very occasionally. Emily had asked to help with the toast again so she was perched on a barstool armed with a butter knife in one hand as the toaster heated.

Dom was sipping his coffee and then saw the telltale tilt of Hawke's head. Doc was here.

Caitlin had heard the helicopter a few moments later and she went to the door to greet their friend. "Hey, Doc, you got here just in time for breakfast!"

"Max made me breakfast before I left but I sure wouldn't mind a cup of coffee and a strip or two of that bacon I smell," he admitted as he took off his jacket and hung it on the rack.

Dom poured him a cup of coffee and the man settled at the bar watching Hawke cook. They'd camped enough times together for him to know he wasn't a bad cook. "Max sends her love," he said. "She wished she could come too just to spend some time but we have some guests for the holidays at the inn."

"That time of year," Caitlin said with a smile. Christmas was just a few weeks away after all.

Emily turned to look at the other man who'd arrived. "Hi! Are you one of Uncle String's friends?" Emily asked. He looked friendly.

"Sure am, my name is Jason but you can call me Doc if you want, everyone else does," he explained to the cute girl. He felt his heart ache a bit from the knowledge of what had happened to this child.

Hawke was plating up breakfast for everyone and gave Doc a plate with a few strips of bacon and a slice of Emily's toast.

"Here ya go," he said as he handed it over and Doc thanked him.

Hawke picked up Emily, bar stool and all and slid her up to the bar and set her plate in front of her. The girl was giggling as she set to work on her apple juice and her breakfast.

"You fly a hellocopter too?" Emily asked.

Doc chuckled at the way she said helicopter and answered, "Yep, I landed it on the lake. My helicopter has the ability to land on water."

"Oh, that's cool!" Emily said with her face lit up.

Hawke laughed and said, "That is pretty cool. You can take a look at it on your way out this morning."

"We're going to work at Uncle Dom's hanger today!" Emily announced. "Sani, um Santini Air!"

"That's right, you got it," Dom said with a grin at her stumbling over his name.

She is a little doll, thought Doc. Too bad Max couldn't have come with him, she sure would have liked this little girl.

Caitlin just settled down at the bar to eat her breakfast after she'd packed the snacks away in a box. Hawke slid his arm around her and squeezed her shoulders. Last night they'd spent, the three of them in his bed again and he sure wished he had a chance just to spend some time alone with Caitlin but they needed to comfort Emily. She'd had a bad dream last night and woke up crying.

None of them were surprised she'd had a bad dream, she was finally not so exhausted that her mind was starting to go back to the fear she felt that night. It wasn't going to be easy to get over. The race through the woods would be tough on an adult but someone her age? He still considered it a miracle she'd got to his cabin.

Doc noticed the gesture and finally saw the connection between the couple that he'd hoped to see long before now. He kept his peace for now but he was going to ask Hawke about it later.

After breakfast was finished, everyone bundled up to go for the day. Emily had a tote bag of things to keep her occupied at the hanger, a coloring book, crayons, a book and a small puzzle and two of her Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Caitlin had made sure she dressed her in layers because it would be a lot warmer down in Van Nuys than it was up at the cabin.

Hawke carried Emily out to the chopper and showed her Doc's bird sitting on the water. She wanted to know how those weird shoes kept it floating and he laughed at her question. He explained they are pontoons and that they were hollow with air inside. They helped to keep the chopper floating on the water. She still didn't understand how they held it up, they were so small it seemed.

Hawke told her it had to do with science and something called buoyancy which she didn't understand but she'd ask more about it later. He gave her a kiss on the head when he set her in the chopper and strapped her in. Dom was doing pre-flight and Caitlin was going to ride in the back to sit with Emily, just in case she got scared.

Hawke gathered Caitlin in his arms and gave her a passionate goodbye kiss. She was a little overwhelmed by just how passionate it was. "Oh, my. Well, I'll miss you too," she said with a smile which he returned before she climbed into the helicopter.

"Take care of my girls, Dom!" he said as he secured Dom's door and the man gave him a little salute.

Doc was watching from the porch and was surprised by the kiss. Well that explained a lot. Good for him, he finally told Caitlin how he feels! The two men watched as the patriotic helicopter made its way into the sky headed back down to Van Nuys airport.

Hawke followed Doc back into the cabin and went over to the fireplace to warm his hands back up.

"So, I take it you and Caitlin are done dancing around each other?" Doc asked.

"You could say that. I asked her to move in and help me raise Emily," Hawke admitted.

"Whoa, talk about quick and raise Emily? I thought this was only temporary, so you are settling down?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Hawke said with a grin.

"And the Lady?" Doc asked.

"Michael has a plan," Hawke shrugged and grabbed his gloves he should have worn earlier and grabbed a bag of supplies and his rifle.

The two men headed out into the snow and strapped on skis. They would ski cross country a few miles and check some of the caves and possible places to take shelter in the area. It would ease his mind to clear anything too close to the cabin. While they trekked, Hawke filled Doc in on everything that had happened in the last few days. It had made him feel pretty damn good about his friendship with Doc when he'd asked for his help yesterday and the man hadn't even asked many questions. Just when and where and what should he bring. He was a true friend, who didn't have to know the details up front to want to be of help.

As Hawke filled him in, Doc felt his heart go out to the little girl even more. He could see why Hawke would want to raise her too. The man could understand the girl like no one else. An orphan who lost her parents in a horrible car wreck and then lost her grandmother to a serial killer who might have also killed her too if he'd found her in that house.

Hawke also filled him in with some prompting on his new relationship adjustment with Caitlin and his plans with Airwolf as well as plans to renovate the cabin. The man was all in it seemed. Doc was surprised at first but the more he thought about it, he realized that it was just like Hawke. He could be a little impulsive sometimes but he also did what he set his mind to as well. He wanted this. Doc was happy for him. He also offered help with the renovation of the cabin.

They'd explored three caves by just after noon and were heading to one last cave to check it out before making their way back to the cabin. Hawke had promised dinner for his new family so he and Doc headed for the last cave. That one did have some signs that someone had been using it during the summer. It had sheltered someone for a few days at least. Hawke used rubber gloves and plastic bags to gather up detritus that had been left behind. A few food wrappers, what appeared to be a dirty rag that had what Doc suspected might be blood on it. There was also a well-preserved shoe print toward the back of the cave, Doc took several photos of it the way Hawke instructed him to.

"Ya' know, I don't like that this is so close to the cabin," Hawke commented as they exited the cave and Hawke marked on his map and Doc wrote on the bags what the evidence was.

"It isn't that close, 3 miles, Hawke," Doc offered but he knew what his friend meant. Too close for Hawke's comfort and only a mile from Emily and Esme's cabin. This was likely how he knew of the older woman alone.

"If it was him in that cave, 50 miles is too close to my girls," Hawke complained.

"Maybe they should stay at Caitlin's place 'til they catch this guy?" Doc offered but the look Hawke gave him made him want to recall the words as soon as he said them.

"Or, maybe not," Doc offered with a grin and Hawke laughed a little.

"Sorry, I just want them here with me," Hawke admitted. "Maybe they would be safer in town?"

"Don't second guess yourself on my account, String, it was just a suggestion. Besides, I think the girls would much rather be up here with you. Caitlin would worry herself sick again at you being up here alone. Despite the fact this guy has only attacked women, you never know when that could change. Crazy is crazy, ya know?" Doc offered.

Hawke finished putting everything back in his pack and shouldered it and his rifle. "You might be right, what I witnessed of the crime scene, Doc it was downright inhuman. I mean it, I've seen a lot of things in my line of work but that was just…hell it scared me," Hawke admitted. It truly had made even him after all he'd seen in his career in the military and with the FIRM take pause. It was animalistic, no humanity to it at all and it scared him, truly scared him to think a man was capable of something like that. He'd seen torture, he'd seen sadistic men before but he'd never seen anything as wild and animal like as he'd seen in that bedroom. The sheer amount of blood splatter was horrific and on top of it, the blood was from someone he'd cared about, truly liked. Someone he'd known since he was just a child, even before his parents died. It was so very wrong and a death no one deserved, certainly not Granny Esme Williams.

Doc was brought up short by that and turned to look at his friend. Not much scared Stringfellow Hawke, he knew this was some serious business. The look on Hawke's face was one Doc had never seen before and it seriously made him uncomfortable. If Hawke had seen the crime scene and was that affected by it then it was bad. Really bad.

"Insanity makes humans do some pretty wild stuff. I've read up on those sorts of things in psychology studies of the criminally insane. Some schizophrenics having a really bad break have no idea what they are doing, have no clue and have strength driven by adrenaline that would overwhelm a normal sane man. This guy, chances are he has something like that, it almost makes me feel sorry for him. If he had proper treatment he might never have come to this, ya know?"

"I know what you mean. I've seen men lose it before during the war, nothing like that but I've seen them just have a complete melt down and almost shoot their own men," Hawke said as they carried their skis and traversed a narrow crop of rocks that was faster to go over than around. Hawke knew this man was sick but it didn't change the fact he'd brutally murdered five women in a way that was utterly frightening.

It was late afternoon when the pair made it back to the cabin. Hawke told Doc he could have first crack at the shower while he got the fires built back up and took care of the dogs. Hawke took his turn next and then started dinner while Doc helped him a little in the kitchen. It wasn't long before Hawke tipped his head up toward the ceiling and Doc shook his head.

"You freak me out when you do that, ya know? You ever have your hearing tested?" Doc teased him and Hawke just smirked at him.

"Here, don't let this burn, I'm gona go help them," Hawke said as he went out grabbing his jacket on the way and shrugging into it while he was walking down the dock. Dom was already lifting Emily out of the back and she ran and jumped into Hawke's arms.

"Hey, bug! I missed you," he said laughing when she slung her arms around his neck and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

"Missed you too, Uncle String! I drawed a picture for you, Aunt Cait has it," she said happily as he shifted her on his hip and greeted Caitlin with a kiss.

"And I missed you as well," Hawke said softly to her. She smiled and agreed as they walked together back up to the cabin.

"How'd it go today, Dom?"

"Oh, you know, same old thing. Caitlin had a few students, we have some jobs lined up for after New Year. Pretty quiet really," Dom said. "Caitlin got a good start on the books today too."

"Did you do anything?"

"Hey, I worked on the ranger and got that carburetor cleaned up," he said. "I also had to entertain our little guest a bit too. She got a little bored."

"Uncle Dom set up a TV for me to watch Sesame Street on," Emily said happily.

Hawke laughed and shook his head. "Better than those dumb soaps you leave it on half the time."

"Hey, I've caught you watching _Days of Our Lives_ a few times tough guy!" Dom accused as they entered the cabin.

Hawke set Emily down and Caitlin set to peeling her layers off as Hawke hung his jacket and rejoined Doc in the kitchen.

"Not bad," Hawke said as he took over from him.

"Well, not burnt anyway," Doc admitted. He wasn't the best cook in the world.

Doc gave Caitlin a hug as he went back to the other room and talked with Dom for a few minutes, filling him in on what they'd found. It concerned Dom too, like Hawke he felt it was far too close for comfort.

Hawke oofed when Emily ran up and hugged him again, "See what I drawed?"

"Drew, you drew it not drawed it," Caitlin corrected gently and Emily made a face.

"See what I drew?"

Hawke laughed. "I see, it's beautiful," he said as he looked at the childlike drawing of his cabin. It was much more colorful than the real thing and quite a bit out of perspective but he thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. "Let's put it on the fridge huh?" he asked as he walked over a bit stiff legged because Emily still had her arms wrapped around his waist and her legs around his right leg. "Whatcha think?"

"Looks good!" Emily said happily.

"Sure does. Now, dinner is almost ready. Why don't you go upstairs and wash up?"

"Okay!" she detached herself from him and ran upstairs.

Caitlin was shaking her head and sighed. "Well, her energy is back."

Hawke wrapped his arms around her and gave her a sweet, short, but loving kiss. "Wearing you out already?"

"Not at all. I'm glad to see it, she has been through so much," Caitlin said softly.

"Yeah, but she's resilient."

He released her and went back to check on the simmering meal on the stove.

"Dinner's ready!" he announced and everyone converged at the dining table.

After dinner, Emily was laying on the floor in front of the fireplace coloring, Doc and Dom were talking about fishing and Hawke and Caitlin were on the couch, his arm wrapped around her and her head on his shoulder talking quietly about the changes he wanted to make to the cabin.

"So, what do you think?" Hawke asked and Caitlin looked up at him.

"I think they are great ideas," she agreed.

"Okay, so what do you want? What would you like to have? I'm not just doing this for me but for both you and Emily," Hawke said after a moment.

"Well…a bigger laundry room might be nice especially if well…if we want children of our own one day we might need a little more elbow room in there," Caitlin said honestly. The laundry room was basically just a closet with a stacked washer and dryer. It could use at least an area to fold clothes and to hang sweaters and delicate things in private.

"Oh, I hadn't ever thought of that but you're right. Anything else?"

"A little more closet room upstairs? And the extra bathroom downstairs is going to have to have a tub for the kids," Caitlin said honestly.

"The kids?"

"Well, at least one more?"

"Three," Hawke said.

"You mean two more," Caitlin asked.

"No, three more. If…you want that is," Hawke said and she looked at him wide eyed.

"Seriously?"

"Too much?" Hawke asked a little worried and she laughed.

"Just right," she agreed with a big smile before giving Hawke a sweet kiss that if they hadn't had company would have probably turned into a whole lot more. They seriously needed some alone time soon.

Dom cleared his throat loudly and Caitlin broke the kiss with a laugh. "We're a little old for chaperones," Caitlin teased and Hawke laughed.

"Sorry, Dom, we were discussing the renovations to the cabin. We were trying to decide on how many bedrooms for the kids," Hawke said honestly.

"Oh. Wait…kids?" Dom asked.

"Well, Emily needs her own room and will probably want some sisters and brothers one day," Hawke said and Emily looked up after hearing her name.

"We were trying to decide on numbers," Caitlin said as she snuggled against Hawke.

"Numbers?" Doc asked with a laugh.

"I come from a large Irish Catholic family, ya' know. We don't do kids in singles much," Caitlin teased.

"I've worked her down from ten so far," Hawke teased and laughed when Dom choked on his hot chocolate.

"Ten! Mama Mia! You've got to be joking! You aren't even married yet, talking kids. Ten!"

Everyone began to laugh and Emily sat up then and said. "You said sisters and brothers for me?"

"That's right sweetie, we want you to stay with us if that is what you want," Caitlin said smiling at the girl.

"Really?" she asked wide eyed and Hawke said "Really!" in response.

"How many then? How many did you pick?" Emily asked in excitement.

"Three." Caitlin said.

"Two plus me?" Emily asked.

"No, three plus you," Hawke answered impressed with her math.

"You two are serious, aren't you?" Dom asked and Doc sat back watching them.

"Well, I'm not getting any younger, Dom. I want to have kids before I can't enjoy them ya know? And I've always wanted more than one child. Especially as close as Sinjin and I were. I want that for my own kids," Hawke explained.

"And I grew up with brothers and sisters and I would like for Emily to have that closeness of having siblings," Caitlin explained.

"I get to have sisters and brothers? That's so cool! I'll be a great big sister!" Emily said nearly bouncing.

Doc laughed and shook his head as Dom sat there dumbfounded.

"So, we're over here talking fly fishing and you two are over there planning the rest of your lives…I'm actually glad Max couldn't come with me or you two would have her all over me about having kids," Doc admitted.

"My advice is to quit putting it off too long," Hawke said.

"But you two haven't even been on a date yet," Dom said echoing Hawke's words from just a few days ago.

"We've known each other for two years, I think we're beyond dating at this point," Caitlin admitted.

"We know just about everything there is to know about each other, we love each other, we're best friends…she's right. It just feels right to start making plans," Hawke said seriously. "Especially since we want to make this cabin big enough for a family. Emily can't have us waiting around either. She deserves a stable family."

"Well I hope you plan to get married before you start on the extra kiddos or Cait's parents are going to flip their lids," Dom said seriously in return.

"They aren't going to be too fond of the idea of my moving in here either," Caitlin said with a shrug as if she really didn't care what they thought at this point. She didn't care one hoot what they thought, she was happy. She was with the man she'd loved for two years. Who cares about titles and crap like that when you are faced with real happiness no matter what order it comes in. Besides, she and Hawke hadn't actually done anything but kiss so far. It was a bit frustrating for both of them but Emily needed them right now.

Dom frowned then. "Well, you two are adults, they should just be happy for you."

Doc agreed on that point. They deserved to be happy and to take their relationship as fast or as slow as they wanted.

"If you two get married will I still call you Uncle String and Aunt Caitlin?" Emily asked.

"Ah, well…you can or you can call us mom and dad or something like that if you wanted to," Caitlin said.

"Would that make Uncle Dom like my grandpa because he raised Uncle String like his son?" Emily asked.

Doc was grinning at the smart little girl.

"Well, I suppose so," Hawke said and looked at Dom. "So, do you want to be Grandpa Dom?"

"I'd be honored," Dom said seriously and Emily smiled at him and got up and ran over to the older man and hugged him.

"Grandpa Dom, I like that," she said happily.

"Well, I like it too!" Dom said with a smile.

"It's up to you on what you call us, Emily. We know you already had a mommy and daddy you loved very much, we aren't trying to take their places," Caitlin explained.

"I don't really 'member 'em though," Emily said honestly. She knew pictures, she knew Granny's stories about them but she didn't remember them.

"Even so, bug, it is totally up to you," Hawke said seriously to the little girl. "We will just be happy to have you as a part of our family, okay?"

Emily released Dom and walked over to stand in front of both Caitlin and String. "I might not 'member to say it right all the time but I'd like a mommy and daddy again," Emily said softly.

Caitlin leaned forward and gathered the girl in her arms and Hawke helped her lift her into their laps.

"You call us whatever you want to, whenever you want to, sweetheart," Hawke said softly and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She hugged both of them and held on for a while.

"Okay," she said softly in return and then tried to stifle a big yawn behind her hand.

"Someone is ready for bed, I think," Hawke said with a grin. "Come on, I'll tuck you in. Do you want a story again tonight?"

"Nope, too sweepy," the child slurred just a little. She'd been slurring or leaving off letters from her words the later it had gotten, she was usually pretty articulate for her age so he knew she was tired.

"All right, let's get you in your PJ's, you can take a bath in the morning," Hawke announced as he stood up with her in his arms.

Caitlin got up with them. "Be right back," she said. It was just past eight so she and Hawke would probably be up at least another couple of hours.

Dom planned to leave when they came back downstairs and Doc felt a little strange. He wished he could give the couple some alone time, but they had Emily to contend with too. Those two needed some alone time.

"Hey Dom, I could go down with you tomorrow to the hanger and help out with Emily, let Cait stay here with Hawke and spend some alone time together or something. They could use it, they haven't had a moment to really be alone since they got together. We found some stuff today, you could swing by the hotel in town and I can run it to the FBI guys and then we can go on down to the hanger. I feel like the least we can do is let them have a little time together, ya' know? They've been waiting years for this," Doc said.

"Hey, that is a great idea, Doc! Those kids could use some time just the two of them, I'm sure we can keep Emily entertained at the hanger. There really isn't much to do right now with the holidays. Maybe she can help make some decorations for the hanger. That'd be fun, wouldn't it?" Dom asked. "I remember helping the boys make ornaments with construction paper when they were little."

"That sounds great. I've done it before with the kids at the mission, glue and construction paper and a few pipe cleaners and they are enthralled for hours," Doc agreed.

Upstairs, Caitlin and Hawke got Emily tucked into bed, she was asleep before they even got the covers over her. "She wore herself out today, you should have seen her at the hanger, String. She absolutely loved flying," Caitlin told him and he laughed.

"Fitting for our daughter then," he said simply and Caitlin smiled at him with so much love in her eyes it took his breath away.

The couple walked back down stairs hand-in-hand to join Dom and Doc again.

"She was out before her head hit the pillow," Hawke said as they sat back down on the couch.

"Hawke, Dom and I were thinking," Doc began and Hawke looked at him oddly.

"Did you hurt yourselves?"

He got hit in the face with a throw pillow from Doc for that one. "Ha, ha smart ass, and here I was doing something nice for you."

"What were you thinking?" Caitlin asked ready to cover Hawke's mouth if he had another smart-ass comment to make.

"Well, I thought that we need to turn in the things we found today to the FBI agents in town, and you and Hawke could use some alone time. So, I thought we could take the stuff into town in the morning, and take Emily to the hanger. I can hang there with Dom and Emily, help with repairs or anything like that, maybe help Emily make some Christmas ornaments or something and then bring her back in the evening. Then Hawke and I can go back out the day after. It's supposed to be bad weather again tomorrow up here so it might be best anyway," Doc explained their plan.

Hawke looked at his friend and his father figure and shook his head. "Sorry for teasing you, thank you for that. Caitlin and I do have a lot to talk about and plan," Hawke agreed.

"Among other things I'm sure," Doc grinned and had to laugh when Caitlin's face colored red.

"Hush, I don't want to think about other things," Dom said gruffly, he thought of Caitlin like a daughter and he didn't want to think about her being with a man, not even Hawke in that way.

"Well I'm going to head back down and sleep in my own bed tonight," Dom said. "Your couch bed is nice but to be honest, your dog snores."

"You've never heard your own snoring, Dom," Hawke laughed. "I swear you snore like a baby moose."

"Shut up," Dom grumbled as he got up to leave. Caitlin got up and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek and thanked him for all he did for them. He hugged her back and kissed her cheek too. "You know I'd do anything for you kids."

Hawke gave him a hug. "Come on, I'll walk you down to the chopper."

When they got outside, Hawke shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky. Another storm really was moving in, he could feel it. "Dom, I'm going to ask Caitlin to marry me."

"You don't do anything by halves, do you? You two just got together," Dom said almost tripping as he turned to look at Hawke.

"I know but I don't want to wait, I've waited too long. I've wasted so much time," Hawke said honestly.

"You had your reasons, I didn't agree with them but you had to come to your own conclusions, son," Dom told him.

"Yeah, I know. I just thought I'd tell you that I wanted to ask her. I have grandma's rings that were left to me. I was thinking of giving those to Caitlin," he said softly.

"I think that would be a great idea, String. I hadn't asked but all these renovations to the cabin, are you finally going to use that money they left you?" Dom asked. Hawke had a substantial trust fund from both his grandparents and his parents that he'd never touched. It was probably worth a pretty penny these days, since Hawke turned 21, Dom hadn't known what the amounts were since he was no longer his trustee and guardian on them but he knew they had quite a bit of money in them when he turned over the reins to Hawke.

"I think so. I have quite a bit saved anyway from the money the FIRM has paid me, it isn't like I spend much on myself. My only big purchase in the last ten years has been my motorcycle and snowmobile," Hawke said honestly. "I used the money from those stunts from that one movie to buy those." They had gotten quite a bit of hazard pay from that film because the stunts were aerial stunts that had never been done before with a helicopter.

"Well, you know what is best, I think it is time that money was put to good use," Dom said softly. "You know you own that MD 500, I know you never use it much but that baby is yours you know."

"We use it for students," Hawke said and Dom shook his head.

"It's a 4-seater, you are going to need that with Emily, we could always use that little Bell 47 for students, String," Dom said reasonably.

"The 47 needs a lot of work," Hawke said looking at his mentor and father figure.

"Nothing we can't fix, we just haven't been messing with it. We might as well, you are going to need something to get you off this mountain if say Emily got sick or something. Not to mention, when and if Cait's pregnant…how you gona get her to the hospital? Pack mule?" Dom said.

Hawke's eyes widened at that and started to laugh. "Yeah, I get your meaning. It isn't just me anymore."

"Yep, there are two more to think about and more when those start coming along," Dom said seriously.

Hawke nodded. "You're right."

"Oh, I so rarely hear that one. Good night, kid," Dom said getting into his helicopter and starting pre-flight checks.

Hawke walked back to the cabin thinking about what Dom had said. He had a lot to talk about with Caitlin.

When he walked back in, Caitlin was laughing at some story Doc was telling her and Hawke found himself smiling at her. God, she was cute when she laughed.

"What's so funny?" he asked hanging up his jacket.

"Doc was telling me about those mountain goats you guys got chased by when you went up to Crystal Lake last summer," Caitlin said still laughing a little.

"Thanks a lot, Doc. That was not one of my better days," Hawke said as he sat down and took Caitlin's hand in his.

"Hey, it was both of us, besides you didn't fall in that mudhole I did," Doc said with a grin.

"Yeah, and you pulled me in with you!" Hawke said with a laugh. "At least the mosquitos didn't bother us anymore."

Caitlin giggled at that and squeezed Hawke's hand. She would have gotten a kick out of seeing the two of them covered in mud.

"It is getting late, let's get you set up down here, Doc," Hawke said standing up and helping Caitlin to stand as well.

"I'll get the pillow and blanket," Caitlin said as she went to the window seat to take them out.

Hawke and Doc moved the coffee table and then pulled the cushions off the couch to pull it out into the bed. Caitlin stacked the cushions on one of the chairs and both dogs moved to lay on the rug on the other side of the living room.

Caitlin then went upstairs to get ready for bed and Hawke followed her up shortly after. She had on a pretty white nightgown when he got upstairs and he smiled as she was brushing her hair. "I like this on you," Hawke said, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and kissing her neck. Her little bottom fit perfectly against his crotch. God, he wanted this woman so much. They fit together perfectly.

"You don't think it is a little matronly? I mean, it's very old-fashioned," she admitted. It was for warmth really, not for being sexy that was for sure.

"I'm an old-fashioned guy. I think it makes you look sweet and womanly," Hawke said softly. "Soft and maybe a little innocent too," he whispered against her neck as he pulled her back against him. The material wasn't satin or silk or anything sexy but it was sweet, a soft cotton flannel that just seemed to suit Caitlin's kind and warm personality.

"String, oh," she whispered as he kissed her neck just below her ear and his hand slid up from her small waist to cup her breast and brush his thumb over her nipple. "We need to stop, we'll wake Emily," she whispered even though her body betrayed her and arched into his touch.

"Tomorrow," he whispered, resting his forehead against her neck.

"Mmm, yeah, tomorrow," she whispered, her body on fire where his touched hers. When he stepped away from her, she shivered. Damn, this man could make her ache for him.

She crawled into bed and tried to calm her nerves as she snuggled down under the warm covers. He changed in the bathroom and came back out to stoke the fire a little and then crawled into bed behind her. He tugged her body closer to him and ran his hand down from her waist to her thigh and back up. "We need to talk tomorrow but I can promise you now, we aren't going to just talk."

Caitlin let out a shuddering breath and nodded. "I hope so. I need you, String."

He closed his eyes and just held her closer. "I need you too."

-Warning: Mature content in next chapter-


	7. Chapter 7

-Warning mature content -

When morning came, it took a bit to wake Emily this time, they had to get up a little earlier since Doc and Dom needed to make a stop at the hotel to drop off what they had found. Hawke had sent them a map as well with the coordinates of the caves they explored and the one they found evidence in. It might be someone else that used that cave but for some reason he doubted it.

While Caitlin got a sleepy Emily up and washed and dressed for the day, Hawke had taken care of things downstairs, let the dogs out for their morning romp and then fed them. He fixed up a simple breakfast of oatmeal and yogurt with fruit for everyone while they all got going. Doc weaved a little on his way to the bar to retrieve a mug of coffee. "I miss, Max," he admitted.

Hawke grinned at him. "Not a good enough breakfast?"

"No, it's fine, I just miss her. Was a little hard to fall asleep last night. Not used to sleeping in a bed without her. Sure, on the ground, in a sleeping bag or something I can do no problem but a bed? I need her with me," he admitted.

"You need to just hurry up and marry that woman," Hawke told him.

"You giving hurry up relationship advice is kinda weird, String," Doc said as he sipped his coffee.

"Hey, once I decided to finally take the leap I went all in," Hawke said as he ate some of his breakfast.

Caitlin and Emily both came downstairs then and joined them. He could tell Caitlin had taken so long to blow dry Emily's hair. It was a little poofier than normal but it was too cold to go out with it damp. Emily was still not completely awake yet, she hadn't said much other than good morning and she was stirring her oatmeal a little listlessly.

"You still sleepy?" Hawke asked.

She nodded and rubbed her eye with her fist. "Little. It's early," she said as she took a bite of the oatmeal and surprised it tasted like maple. "Oh, this is yummy."

"Well, thank you," Hawke said with a grin.

"I have a feeling she got something extra in her bowl," Caitlin said with a grin.

"Maybe a little maple syrup and some chopped walnuts," Hawke said.

"Oh, maple walnut oatmeal. You like it, Emily?" she asked, though it was pretty obvious the girl did, she seemed a bit more awake now.

"I guess that's a yes, she hasn't come up for air," Doc said with a laugh.

"Be sure to eat some of your yogurt too, you'll be hungry in an hour if not," Hawke told her.

"Why?" Emily asked looking up at him.

"Because your oatmeal doesn't have much protein other than the little bit of milk I cooked it with and the nuts. If you have some yogurt it has protein in it too which will make you feel more satisfied and you won't feel like you are starving an hour from now," he explained.

She nodded at him and then tasted the yogurt which she never was very fond of, but she liked this kind. Granny always had plain vanilla but this was sweeter. "This is good too, I don't like yogut much," she said mangling the word yogurt a little.

"I never liked it when I was a kid either so I added just a little of the maple to it too, Dom always did that when I was a kid so I'd eat it," he explained.

"Grandpa Dom is smart," she said licking her spoon and making them laugh.

Neither Caitlin or Hawke had gotten dressed, she had just thrown her pink bathrobe on over her nightgown and Hawke was wearing a t-shirt and sweats he'd worn to bed.

Emily looked up from her meal and gave Caitlin a look. "Aren't you going to come to work with us?"

"Not today, sweetheart. Doc is going to go with you and Dom this morning. I'm going to keep Hawke company today," Caitlin said and Hawke grinned.

"Oh, I'll miss you both," Emily said softly.

"Don't worry, bug, you'll have lots of fun with Grandpa Dom and Uncle Doc," Hawke told her.

She smiled up at 'Uncle Doc', "Really? Are we going in your floating hellocopter?"

"Not today but I have something planned for us to do today. We are going to make some Christmas ornaments for Grandpa Dom's hanger and you can make some for String and Cait too," Doc said with a smile.

"With glitter?" she asked happily.

"Uh, well can get some at the store when we get the glue and construction paper and stuff like that. You can pick what you want, kiddo," Doc said with a smile. "It'll be my treat."

That really seemed to perk her up and she asked. "When is Grandpa Dom gona get here?"

Caitlin laughed and slipped off her bar stool to gather up a few things for Emily to take with her. "Do you want your dolls today?"

"Min' Tulip and Huckleberry," she said as she got down from the barstool with help from Doc and ran over to pick up her coloring book and crayons off the coffee table. Huckleberry had been a little mangled but enough to understand, she still had trouble with her r's sometimes.

Doc raised an eyebrow at Hawke and the man just shrugged. "I know which one is Strawberry Shortcake…that's it so far," Hawke said with a laugh.

He watched as Caitlin went through a bag and pulled out a little doll with yellow hair and striped tights and then pulled out a little doll wearing overalls. Emily reached out for them and hugged the dolls before she put them in the tote bag.

Hawke was putting some of the last of the cookies in a zipper bag and grabbed a small bag Caitlin had already filled with berries and another with some cheese squares. "Snacks," he said as he held them up. "She'll get hungry a couple times during the day," he explained.

Doc nodded and remembered that they often fed snacks at the mission too. "Thanks for the reminder. She's so polite I bet she wouldn't even ask," Doc admitted and Hawke nodded in agreement.

About that time, Hawke said, "Dom's here," and Doc finished off his coffee and grabbed his backpack that had the evidence for the FBI guys. "You said their names are Rossi and Gideon, right?" Hawke nodded and smiled as Doc scooped up a bundled-up Emily. The girl squealed and laughed as he swung her up onto his hip.

Hawke and Caitlin both gave her a kiss before she left, waving at them as they went out the door. Dom wasn't going to come in, he just landed long enough to pick them up and head on down the mountain to the town before they headed back to the airport. Caitlin and Hawke waved to Dom from the doorway and he waved back at them before he took off again.

They closed the door and looked at one another.

"Alone at last," Hawke said and Caitlin smiled shyly. She was a little nervous now, especially from the hungry look that Hawke had just given her.

He reached out to her and tugged on the belt of her robe and pulled her closer using it. "You are so beautiful, Caitlin," he whispered to her as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She was what a lot of men might consider cute, the girl-next-door sort of look but to him she was so much more. She was sassy and full of fire, she was tough, kind, beautiful and funny. She could handle all sorts of air craft with a practiced ease and she made a plain looking terry cloth robe look damned enticing to him. Maybe it wasn't what she wore but the way she wore it.

"I don't have any make up on and I'm in a pink bathrobe, String," she said with a laugh.

"And you are absolutely beautiful to me," he said softly as he kissed her nose, then her cheeks and then her lips, just soft tender kisses.

He heard her breath hitch and he pulled the belt of the robe loose, letting the soft material pool around their feet.

Her fingers threaded in his short hair and Caitlin drew him into a fuller kiss that took both their breath away by the time it ended. Before she could say or do anything else, Hawke scooped her into his arms and carried her upstairs to the loft.

When he set her down again, he pulled her tight against his body, her back to his front just like last night. His hands skimmed over the soft flannel gown molding to her skin and feeling her breathing pick up. He kissed her neck again, nibbling along her skin with his teeth and she shivered in his arms.

"String," she whispered his name and he turned her to face him again, kissing her deeply and pouring all his desire for her into the kiss.

His hands gathered her gown and slowly started working it up her body, his fingertips caressing her soft skin as it rose. Her hands pressed into his shoulder's as she arched her body against his, her warm core pressing against his lower body. She could feel the heat and hardness of his desire and it made her shiver.

"I love you, Caitlin," he whispered before taking her lips again in a deep, probing kiss, his tongue mingling with hers, memorizing her feel and her taste and wanting to learn even more about this woman his heart belonged to.

They broke apart only long enough for Hawke to toss the white nightgown to the floor and his lips slid down from her lips to her throat, tracing along all her freckles down to her chest. He captured one hard nipple in his mouth, sucking softly, teasing it with his teeth and soothing it with his tongue.

She arched into him, as one of his arms cradled her body against his own as his mouth teased and tasted her skin.

Her fingers tugged at his t-shirt and he leaned back long enough to let her tug it up and over his head. Caitlin's hands traced over his strong chest to his shoulders and then slid up into Hawke's hair and pulled him into another kiss, this one wanton and wild.

Hawke hooked his fingers in the top of her panties and lowered them down her body, his mouth blazing a trail down to her belly button and she stepped out of them, completely naked before him. "Beautiful" he murmured as he moved back up her body, his hands and lips moving slowly all over her skin.

"Please, oh, String please, I need you," she whimpered and he slowly lowered her onto the bed.

He looked at her laying in his bed, her hair fanned out on the pillow like a crown, she was like a Celtic goddess before him, her breasts were rising and falling with her quickened breaths and he leaned down, kissing her stomach, moving lower, kissing the crease of her leg where it met her thigh. She shivered from the sensation and he moved lower, pushing one of her legs up as he did.

Caitlin gasped when his hot breath blew against her curls and she shivered again, her lower body lifting slightly from the bed unconsciously drawn to him.

Hawke, leaned down, lifting her hips slightly more as he lowered to her, his tongue tracing along her warm softness. The tip of his tongue brushed against her bud and she moaned softly, her body completely electrified as his mouth and tongue teased her.

"Oh, God!" she whimpered as she looked down her body at his head buried between her legs. She'd been with a few men before but none had made her feel like this. She was melting and being remade right in that moment. It felt like nothing she'd ever felt in her life, her stomach fluttered with jolts of pleasure as he pleased her in ways she never knew was possible.

One of his thumbs slipped inside her, just barely breaching her body and Caitlin cried out. "Please," she whimpered, needing more. "More…oh, God, more."

He smiled against her moist heat and slid a finger inside her, feeling her body clamp around it made him throb and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold back.

Caitlin undulated her hips, unable to stop herself from trying to feel even more as she clutched the bedcovers in her fists. One finger was joined by two as he worked them inside the tight heat of her body and continued to lick and tease her with his mouth. She was shivering under him, on the edge and he knew it.

He pulled back and she moaned in disappointment and then closed her eyes and shook when she saw him lick his fingers, tasting her.

Hawke shoved off his pants and moved over her, kissing her lips tenderly, letting her taste herself there. She moaned against his mouth and wrapped her legs around him as he slowly entered her body. They fit together perfectly, his body shuddering as he entered her, deeper and deeper until he was buried as deep as he could within her.

Caitlin's hands had released the covers and wove into his hair again, pulling him into a deep kiss, their tongues sliding together. He waited as long as he could before he started moving into her, his hips moving slowly, wanting to draw this first meeting of their bodies out as long as he could but he wanted her so much. His control was starting to slip and when she arched against him, her body pulling him deeper, something within him snapped. His arms slid under her back and he shifted onto his knees, pulling her with him until she was impaled in his lap.

Caitlin cried out his name and her head fell back exposing her neck to him which he attacked, sucking, kissing, dragging his teeth down to her shoulder as his body surged with hers. The wind was howling outside the cabin now, the snowstorm seeming to feed off their own storm inside. The only sounds inside were the sounds of their moans, their bodies moving together and the crackle of the fireplace. It was two years of pent up desires coming out, their need for each other, their love and their passion fueling more.

As he took her, hard, thrusting into her she cried out, her body flying apart and coming back together again, shaking against Hawke as she tried to catch her breath. He lowered her back to the bed, driving into her again, his own desires fed by her release. He lifted one of her legs over his shoulder as he surged into her and Caitlin cried out his name, her eyes squeezing shut as she arched up to him, her body clamping tight around him. Hawke cried out her name then as his world exploded. He continued to thrust against her until he was completely spent, her body milking him and making his bones turn to dust.

He released her leg, to fall back to the bed and he rested his head against hers. "I love you so much, Caitlin," he whispered.

It took Caitlin a moment to catch her breath as she smiled up at him, her hands brushing back his hair, "I love you too, so very much."

They were both shaking as he started to draw away but she wrapped her leg around him. "Stay," she whispered. "Just a little longer."

Hawke nodded and framed her face with one hand as he supported his weight on the other. He tipped her face up to kiss him again. He finally pulled away from her and rolled onto his side beside the woman he loved and gathered her into his arms.

"My God, String," she whispered. "You certainly made that worth the wait."

He laughed softly and nuzzled against her neck. "Same here. I'm not just saying this Caitlin but nothing has ever felt like that before. I've never felt so much of a connection with any lover before."

She smiled at him and snuggled against his body. "Me too. I never knew that it could feel that good."

They dozed for a bit, his fingers combing through her soft strawberry blonde hair and they kissed tiny kisses over and over again as they held one another, listening to the wind and storm outside.

An hour or so later they got up and just pulled their nightclothes back on, had a light lunch and snuggled with one another in front of the fire in the living room. They talked about the plans for the cabin and about Emily and her immediate needs and how they were going to deal with the things at granny's place. They'd need to see about Esme's will and things of that sort.

"Caitlin, I know we've talked about you moving in and us being a family and a future with children," Hawke said after a while. "But, I haven't exactly asked you to make it official."

"Official?" Caitlin asked wondering if that meant what she thought it did.

Hawke wasn't sure if this was the right way to do it, he'd never proposed before and this certainly wasn't the way they did it in the movies. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small velvet bag he had put there earlier and then moved to kneel on one knee before her.

"String?" Caitlin asked, knowing what this probably meant but not sure about it. Her heart was beating so hard she wondered if he could hear it too.

"Like you said, we've known each other for two years, we know each other's pasts, and secrets, we are best friends and now we're lovers. I want you to be the mother of my children, I want you to be with me when I'm old and gray and I want to share everything in between with you. Caitlin O'Shannesy, will you marry me?" Hawke asked feeling a bit nervous as he held his grandmother's engagement ring out to her. He figured her answer would be yes but she might want to wait.

"Yes," she whispered and then cleared her throat clogged with tears. "Yes, I'll marry you." He slid the ring on her finger and she looked at how beautiful it was.

"When did you have time to get this?" She asked in confusion, as she wiped a tear away from her cheek.

"I've always had it, this ring belonged to my grandmother," Hawke said softly.

"Oh, it's beautiful and fits perfectly too," she said with a bit of wonderment in her voice.

"Then I guess it was meant to be," he whispered before he kissed her deeply, sealing the pledge they'd just made to each other.

She pulled him to sit back down on the couch next to her and he wrapped his arm around Caitlin's shoulders. "So, when do you want to have the wedding?" he asked.

"I have no idea," she laughed. "I…anytime? I don't need anything big and elaborate."

"What about your family though? If you want a big church wedding, we can do that as long as I get you as my wife" Hawke asked knowing how her mother was.

"Oh, phooey on mom, she would drive me insane planning something big anyway. We'd just end up wanting to kill each other, so I figure a small wedding will be easier and better for everyone," Caitlin said, unable to stop staring at the sparkling ring on her finger.

Hawke laughed when she said phooey, she was the only person he knew that used that word aside from Dom. "Hey, I'd be glad to take the blame, ya know? Tell her I don't want something big and elaborate, tell her I hate crowds and parties," Hawke offered.

"You do hate crowds and parties, String," Caitlin said with a laugh.

"Well there you go!" Hawke laughed with her. "So, any idea when you'd like? Where you'd like the wedding? Church or here at the cabin or hell, Vegas or something?" he asked.

"Well, how long do you think the renovations on the cabin will take? It would be awful crowded here, even a small wedding would be too much as it is now," she said thinking of how pretty a wedding would be here at the cabin with the lake and all the trees. It suited Hawke and frankly it suited her too.

"With the weather, we've had this season so far, it might be late February before we could really get started and then I think it could be done in at least four or five months," Hawke estimated.

"Oh, well that is July at the earliest," Caitlin said scrunching up her nose in a way that always made Hawke grin.

"Do you want to wait that long?"

"Well as engagements go, it is kinda short if we were a normal couple," Caitlin laughed.

"Nothing about us is normal though," Hawke said laughing with her.

"Ain't that the truth? Well, any other ideas? Not Vegas though, my mom is going to give me enough grief about a small wedding, I don't need to add getting married in Vegas to it," Caitlin said seriously.

"Well, we could go up to the inn at Crystal Lake, I'm sure Max and Doc would love to host a wedding there," Hawke suggested. "There'd be plenty of room."

"Oh, but do you think they'd have any openings soon? They get booked up sometimes, we'd need to ask right away," Caitlin said liking the idea more and more.

"We can ask Doc when they get back this evening, besides I can't wait to see the look on Dom's face. We can find out when it is the slowest at the Inn, I think Doc mentioned that it was real quiet after New Year most of the time," Hawke recalled.

"I do have a request, aside from the wedding that is," Caitlin said looking up into the baby blue eyes she could just lose herself in.

"Hmm, what is that?"

"I know you aren't much on holidays, especially Christmas but…I'd really like to give Emily a good Christmas, she's been through so much. Would it be okay if we decorated the cabin for her?" Caitlin asked, not sure how Hawke would feel about it. Most years he just ignored the ornaments and tree she and Dom would put up in the hanger and he never decorated his cabin for the holidays. She knew it was because he didn't want to celebrate it without is brother, but things had changed. They had a child in their lives. They couldn't deny her Christmas.

"Cait, it's your and Emily's home too now, ya know? I think I can handle a Christmas tree and a few other things around the cabin. Emily deserves to get the full Christmas experience. You're only a kid once," he said and then winced at the happy and excited look she gave him. "Just…just don't go too overboard okay?"

Caitlin laughed and kissed him sweetly. "I promise, nothing gaudy, nothing over the top," she said softly.

"Hmm, I'll give you the mantle, dining table and the corner over there for the tree," Hawke offered with a jerk of his head toward the corner by the front window. "For another of those kisses for each."

"Oh, I think I can do that. So, can I bargain for some garland on the stair rails?"

"Bargain? What will you give me for that?"

She licked her lips and leaned over to whisper something that made her blush and made his heart skip and the blood to flood south. "Worth that much, huh?"

"Well…I kinda wanted to do that anyway but if I can use it as a bargaining chip why not?" Caitlin teased him shyly.

"You know I think I'm going to like bargaining with my future bride," Hawke grinned.

"Hmmm, I think I'll enjoy bargaining with you my future husband," Caitlin agreed as she kissed him once, twice and a third time just to cover the mantle, dining table and the tree.

Hawke pulled her up from the couch and she ran ahead of him to the stairs. "Well, come on, flyboy? You wanna collect on that bargain, don't you?"

Hawke leapt over the chair rather than go around it and chased Caitlin up the stairs. By the afternoon, Caitlin had secured a wreath on the door, stockings on the mantle and garland on the porch rails too.


	8. Chapter 8

They showered together and dressed before everyone was to come home and this time Caitlin shooed Hawke out of the kitchen so she could cook. He took the dogs out for their afternoon run and gathered more firewood for the night. He was just coming back into the cabin with Tet and Sally when he heard Dom's helicopter.

"Sounds like our alone time is up," Hawke called as he put the firewood down. It had snowed at least another three inches during the day but the winds had died down now and the sun had peeked through the clouds for just a short while before it started to set.

Doc, Dom and Emily came into the house singing _Jingle Bells_ and Emily was perched in Dom's arms with a Santa hat on her head.

"You all sound happy," Hawke said as he stood up, dusting off his hands and jeans.

"We had sooo much fun!" Emily said happily as Dom set her down and she ran over to hug Hawke.

"Really? What did you do today?"

"We went to the store to get glitter and glue and construction paper and Grandpa Dom saw they had Santa there so I went and sat on his lap and he gave me this hat and a candy cane!" Emily said happily.

"So where is the candy cane?" Hawke asked.

"I ate it! But I gave some to Grandpa Dom and Uncle Doc too. Then we went back to the hanger and we made ormanents," she said not quite getting 'ornaments' out but Hawke knew what she meant.

"So, you made ornaments, did you decorate the hanger?" he asked.

"Yup! Uncle Doc helped me make trees for all your desks, yours has a red one, Grandpa Dom has a blue one to match his jacket and I did a green one for mommy," Emily said, not even stumbling over calling Caitlin mommy.

Caitlin paused in the kitchen as she heard and took a deep breath. It was one thing to offer for Emily to call her mommy but hearing a child call her that. It made her heart skip and her throat tight with love and pride.

Hawke caught that too and looked up at Caitlin and he could see the new title had gotten to her a bit.

"Well, mommy is making dinner, do you want to go help her?" Hawke said almost too happily even to his own ears.

The little girl went rushing into the kitchen peeling off her jacket as she went. She left it on one of the living room chair's and Hawke didn't have the heart at the moment to correct her and have her put it where it belonged.

"How big was that candy cane?" Hawke asked as she jumped from foot to foot telling Caitlin some tale of her day.

Doc laughed. "It's long worn off by now, that is just pure four-year-old excitement to be home."

Dom looked so happy the man might burst. "That little girl talked all afternoon about coming home to see you two and how much she loved the cabin. She still would get quiet during the day and admit she misses Esme but…she was pretty cheerful considering all she's been through the last several days."

"Cait and I have both been worried about her, I guess now I understand how you always felt with Sinjin and I," Hawke admitted.

"It doesn't lessen even when the kids are grown, String. Be ready for that," Dom answered.

"So, did you two get time to talk and stuff?" Doc asked, not really elaborating on the stuff but he figured much more than talking took place in the cabin today.

"Yeah, we decided how we want to renovate the cabin for sure, decided on what we want to do for Christmas for Emily and made some other plans I'll need to talk to you about later, Doc," Hawke said with a nod to him.

"Okay," he said looking at Hawke oddly but all the other man did was smirk at him.

Dom had already left them and gone to the kitchen to see if he could help. Caitlin gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek in welcome and told him she was fine. Dinner was already in the oven and Emily was sitting at the bar with her little tongue between her lips sprinkling shredded cheese over some French bread. Dom wished he had a camera.

"Cait, whatever you're making smells really good!" Doc called into the kitchen and Caitlin smiled happily.

"Vegetable lasagna," she said back to him and Hawke smiled.

"I love her vegetable lasagna, the first time she made it when she found out I don't eat red meat I ate three helpings. I couldn't move afterwards," Hawke said laughing. "In fact, I kept making excuses to stay at her apartment so I didn't have to move."

Doc started laughing. "I have a buddy who was dating this gal, after she cooked for him the first time he decided right then and there he was marrying her," Doc said smiling. He loved that story about Ruth Anne and Chris.

"Honestly? Did they stay together?" Hawke asked.

"Sure did, they celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary at the Inn last month. They eat at the Inn on November 20th every year since even before Max owned the place," Doc answered.

Hawke smiled and glanced into the kitchen where Caitlin had her arms around Emily and was swaying back and forth talking with the girl and Dom.

"She's good with her, isn't she?" Doc said noticing Hawke's gaze.

"Yeah, she's amazing," Hawke said in answer.

"So, what was it you wanted to ask me about?"

"Oh, uh, I was wondering when the Inn was the quietest, didn't you say after New Year?" Hawke hedged a little not wanting to tell him just yet.

"Wanting to plan a little get away?" Doc asked.

"Yeah, something along those lines."

"Well, usually from about the 10th of January until about the first week of March we have the place almost entirely to ourselves and just the local folks. Occasionally we'll get someone that comes up to do some cross-country skiing but not that often," Doc explained. "It'd be real quiet, we get a lot more snow up there than you do here, though this winter you're giving us a run for our money."

"Dinner's ready!" Caitlin called from the kitchen. Hawke looked up to see Emily and Dom setting the table and he got up to get out a bottle of wine for the meal, except for Emily who got a glass of milk.

Everyone settled in for the meal and when Caitlin passed the basket of bread to Dom, he caught sight of the ring on her finger.

He stared at it for a few moments and Caitlin shook the basket. "Dom, didn't you want some bread?"

"Caitlin, you're wearing String's grandma's ring," Dom said and she set the basket back on the table. Doc stopped eating as well as he looked at the couple on the other side of the table. Emily was un-phased, she just kept eating, not paying attention to the adults.

"Uh, yeah, we sort of had something we were going to tell you after dinner," Hawke started and Dom just stared at him dumbfounded.

"Sort of had something to tell us?" Dom asked incredulously.

"Well," Caitlin began, "String asked me to marry him and I said yes. We haven't set a date or made any plans yet though, we were thinking it might be nice to have it up at the Inn at Crystal Lake."

"So that's why you were asking when we were slow after New Year," Doc said with a grin.

"Busted," Hawke said laughing. "Dom, are you okay?"

"I just never thought I'd see the day, I know you told me you wanted to marry Caitlin but I didn't expect it so soon," Dom admitted.

"You told Dom you were going to ask me to marry you?" Caitlin asked surprised.

"Yeah, I didn't tell him when but I told him I wanted to," Hawke admitted.

"Sounds like if you want to go for mid-January or early February you aren't planning a long engagement then," Doc offered up.

"Why bother?" Caitlin said smiling and slipped her hand into Hawke's. "We don't want anything big and elaborate anyway."

"You mean, he doesn't want anything big and elaborate. Caitlin, honey you should get the wedding you want. Every little girl has a dream wedding," Dom said not happy that it sounded to him like she was caving to what String wanted and not what she wanted.

"Dom, I'm the little girl who rode horses and flew helicopters. I wasn't dreaming of a wedding with a big dress and all the frills I just wanted to find a man who loved me as much as I loved him, the rest is just a legal paper and a party," Caitlin admitted.

Hawke squeezed her fingers in his and looked up at his father figure. "I offered to do the big church wedding. She said no," he shrugged.

"String wouldn't be comfortable, Dom and I don't want him to feel that way on our wedding day and I don't want to have to deal with my mother. This way I can keep her out of it as much as possible, have the wedding *we* want to have and enjoy the day rather than feeling like we're putting on some silly show for everyone else. It should be our day to have it the way we want, not what my mother always wanted *for* me," Caitlin explained. "And don't you worry, our wedding will be beautiful but in our way."

"Of course, it'll be beautiful, sweetheart, you'll be the bride," Dom said with a smile. "If this is what you two really want, then I said my peace and that's the last of it."

"I think that a wedding in the snow would be like a fairytale," Emily piped up then surprising them all.

"In the snow?" Hawke asked.

"Mmmm, hmmm," she nodded. "Mommy would look like a snow queen and I could be her fairy princess."

Caitlin couldn't contain the smile and looked at Hawke. "She's already my queen so I guess that works for me," Hawke said as he lifted their clasped hands to kiss Caitlin's.

"Moon eyes again," Dom grumbled and Doc snickered at the comment.

"Oh…oooo…ooo!" Emily said excitedly bouncing in her chair. "Under the moon! Like Little Daylight!"

Doc and Dom looked at each other oddly not understanding the reference.

Hawke and Caitlin smiled however and nodded. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Be cold if you ask me," Dom grumbled.

"We could shove a space heater up your," Hawke started and Caitlin cut him off jerking her head toward Emily. "Hawke!"

Doc started to laugh as Dom gave Hawke a dirty look. Emily just looked from one adult to another and shrugged not understanding them.

Doc recovered and leaned back in his chair, "Ya know, I think I know of the perfect place. There is a wedding arch already there and it's inside something like a natural chapel with the trees the way they've grown. It can't be seen unless you are inside it, Max thinks the previous owners must have trained the trees to grow that way, but it really is cool looking. We get a lot of couples that use it in the summer but it could be lit with lights and use the snow to our advantage. We could set up a few outdoor heaters too. It won't melt the snow or be terribly warm but it shouldn't be biting cold either…I think we could pull it off. Give you guys a beautiful outdoor wedding with just a small gathering of friends and family. After the ceremony, it's just a short walk up to the Inn and you could have the reception there," Doc suggested. He had plenty of experience with helping Max set up weddings for other guests in the past. He knew the logistics of it and Max was a magician with that sort of stuff.

"Max has rubbed off on you, hasn't she?" Hawke asked with a grin.

"Just a little, she's great with this stuff, most of the summer she spends helping couples with their wedding arrangements around the Inn. Lots of folks are opting for outdoor weddings these days. Seems like they either go over the top, Princess Diana style or go understated with a little less frill in an outdoor wedding. When I'm not too busy I usually get roped into helping her with lights and running a lot of errands for her, stuff like that," Doc admitted.

"I'd be willing to help with whatever needs done too. I think with Max's help it'd be perfect," Dom chipped in then.

Emily was finished with her dinner and just playing with what was left of her bread. Caitlin noticed and asked her if she wanted to be excused to go play before bath time and she nodded and hopped up. She ran around the table and kissed Hawke and Caitlin on their cheeks and told them she was happy they were getting married like a real mommy and daddy.

"Thank you, bug," Hawke said and picked her up into his lap and gave her a big kiss on the cheek and Caitlin leaned over and did the same on her other cheek before he put her back down. The little girl ran off happily into the living room to get her crayons and coloring book again.

Dom was shaking his head. They were already a family. The wedding would just make it official but in just a few days' time, they'd become a family and he was just damn proud to be a part of it.

They discussed a few other things as they cleared the table and Caitlin caught Dom in the kitchen with Doc. Hawke went to the living room and sat down Indian style in the floor next to Emily with the dogs. He was rubbing their bellies as he watched the little girl color. She, just like Caitlin, had stolen his heart the moment he met the child a few years ago.

"Guys, Hawke and I discussed it today and we want to make Emily's Christmas extra special because this is her first one with us and we know she'll be missing her granny terribly. So, Hawke agreed to let me decorate," Caitlin said softly.

"What? Mr. Scrooge is letting you decorate his cabin?" Dom asked.

"Yes, and I promised nothing gaudy or over the top…Dom," she said giving him one of her looks that meant business.

"Ah, I see," he said soberly.

"But I'm going to need time to go and get some things in town tomorrow and time to decorate the cabin if that's okay. I'll work on the ledgers and accounts the rest of the week. I know tax season is just around the corner," Caitlin said. "I don't have any students lined up and if Doc is going to be going out again with Hawke tomorrow to check on those caves to the west then I could bring Emily up and we can work on decorating."

"That's a great…oh…oh no you don't. You are not staying in this cabin alone with just Emily, not while Doc and Hawke are out in the woods looking for signs of that maniac. No. I know you can handle yourself, Caitlin but not even a shotgun saved Esme. You can't stay here alone, I'm sorry if I sound like a chauvinist or whatever but you are not going to be here alone," Dom said firmly.

"But Dom, you can't just close the hanger," Caitlin said softly.

"I can do what I want, Caitlin, that is the joy of owning your own business ya know?" Dom said with a smile. "Besides, I think I know someone who can help."

"You are not going to drag Michael out here," Caitlin said pursing her lips.

"No, I'm sure Mr. Clean is far too busy but I bet he'd give me a couple of his security guys to keep watch. Then you can surprise, String, which is what I'm betting you have in mind without feeling bad about my closing the hanger. I'll feel better knowing you are protected," Dom said seriously.

"Thank you, Dom," she whispered and kissed his cheek and looked at Doc.

"I agree with him and I'll not breathe a word to Hawke about it. I bet he's dreading you dragging him into decorating even if he said it was fine with him for Emily's sake," Doc told her.

"You're probably right, it just isn't his thing," Caitlin agreed.

"What did he agree to anyway? A tree and maybe some stockings on the mantle?" Doc asked curiously.

"Oh, we bargained a bit, a tree, garland and stockings on the mantle, garland on the porch rails, a wreath on the door, a centerpiece on the table and garland on the stair rails going up to the loft," she answered.

"How the hell did you manage to get him to agree to ALL that?" Dom asked completely floored Hawke had agreed to that much decorating.

"As I said, we bargained," Caitlin said not quite meeting Dom's eyes in slight embarrassment.

"What was the bargain for?" Doc asked curiously and her face colored a bit.

"Um…its private," she answered looking down at her hands and playing with her ring.

"Ooooh," Doc laughed. "No wonder Hawke was in such a good mood this evening."

Her face blazed red then and Doc laughed harder.

Dom looked lost and Doc just patted him on the back, "Come on, I'll walk you to your helicopter, Dom."

"Oh…okay. Goodnight, Cait, I'll see you in the morning," he said and kissed her cheek. She kissed him back and gave him a little hug before he went over and said goodnight to Emily. She got up and hugged his neck as he bent down for her. She told him again how much fun she had that day at the hanger with them. Hawke gave his father figure a hug and sat back down, wondering what they'd been whispering about in the kitchen but he was sure he'd find out soon enough.

Doc put his jacket on as he followed Dom outside and took a deep breath. He loved it here just as much as he did at home. It was peaceful, or it should be. Tomorrow, they were off to look for more signs of someone staying in area caves and he hoped they could find something for the FBI guys to go on. They'd been thankful for what they'd done so far but it was a huge area to cover and even with a few extra people from the L.A. field office and the local and state police they hadn't made a dent in all the possible hiding places.

"What was all that about you think?" Dom asked. "String, has never liked decorations for Christmas much, heck even as a kid he wasn't all that excited about them. Not like other kids, he was more interested in just enjoying Christmas break from school but not caring much about all the other stuff."

"Well, he lost his parents young, Dom. That sorta puts an end to the childhood fantasies. If Emily had been older she might not like Christmas either anymore but she's young enough to bounce back more easily. He was ten, that's sort of a tough age, you think of yourself as more grown than you are at that age, ya know?" Doc explained. "But Hawke wants to make Emily's life as normal as possible and like Cait said, she bargained with him. Trust me, I'm sure he was more than happy with her forms of payment if you get my drift."

"Huh? Oh….oh no, don't tell me those things! Argh! I don't want to think of Caitlin doing anything more than kissing."

Doc laughed. "She isn't your daughter, Dom and she is 28 years old."

"I think of her as a daughter. That's enough. Plus, String is basically my son, I sure don't want to think about that sort of stuff with either of them," Dom said quickly.

"But, what about the kids they want?" Doc asked.

"As far as I'm concerned, the stork's bringing 'em!"

Doc cracked up at that and closed the door of the helicopter for the other man.

Doc returned to the cabin and found Cait and Emily had disappeared. "Bath time?"

"Yep. Ya know, Emily is pretty good at staying in the lines for a child her age," Hawke said as he looked at the coloring book page before he closed it and put it and her crayons back into her tote.

"She is smart as a whip," Doc admitted. "I noticed today that she has a very organized mind, she does things in a specific way, in an order that makes sense to her. It was kind of fascinating to watch her work on her little ornaments. She really had a blast. She also has a pretty good grasp on basic math already. Emily was able to add and subtract fairly naturally at least up to 15 anyway when we were sorting out pipe cleaners for her trees."

Doc sat down in a chair across from Hawke who was still in the floor. How the man could do that was beyond him. Doc was a couple years younger than Hawke yet the other man was still so youthful. When they went fishing together, Hawke always seemed to outlast him on a hike or could sit on the ground for hours and get up like it didn't bother him a bit. Doc would get up feeling almost twice his 35 years. Maybe there was something to that diet that Hawke stuck to. Fish and vegetables, he rarely drank alcohol and he didn't have other bad habits either. Hell, the man probably had a heart like an elephant. It seemed fitting that he'd fallen for a woman almost 10 years younger than him, she could definitely keep up with him.

"What's on your mind?" Hawke asked seeing that his friend had gotten quiet.

"Hmm, nothing much really just contemplating some things. I want you to know that I'm happy for you, Hawke. I'm glad you finally told Caitlin how you feel and I think you're going to be a terrific father to Emily," he said honestly to his friend.

"To be honest, that means a lot to me," Hawke said looking up at his friend. "There aren't a lot of things that scare me but not being enough for either of them terrifies me."

"You're more than enough, Hawke. That little girl adores you and Caitlin, man I've never known a woman to love a man as much as she loves you. I've known how she felt about you for a long time and how you felt about her. I never said anything because I knew eventually you two would figure it out on your own. I also figured when it did happen it would go fast like a wild fire. If it were any other couple I might say things were moving way too fast but not you guys. It makes sense, I mean to be honest if I asked Max to marry me tomorrow, we'd probably be hitched before the weekend. Why have a long engagement when you are already everything but married on paper? I probably should tell Max that, I'm not even sure she wants to get married. Her last marriage was a nightmare but as far as the two of us, we're as good as married," Doc said simply.

Hawke considered his friend's words and appreciated Doc all the more. If Sinjin couldn't be here for his wedding at least he had a friend, a brother if not by blood to be there. For his part, he knew he wanted Dom, Doc, Bobby and his dad, as well as Michael and Marella there. They were more than just friends as far as he was concerned. He knew Caitlin would have her brothers and sisters and parents there but she didn't have many close female friends besides her sorority sisters and it might be too short of notice to get any of them up to Crystal Lake for the wedding. He'd need to ask her later.

"Thanks, Doc," Hawke said with a smile. "If I were you, I'd ask Max how she feels about getting married again. With you always going off to do your volunteer work and such, it might make her feel a little more confident that you'll always come back to her."

"Never really thought of it like that. I don't even notice other women anymore. Sure, I see they're pretty or something but I know I've got something much better waiting at home, ya know?" Doc said seriously.

"I know the feeling. I denied it for a long time and got involved with just about every woman I met just trying to forget the way I felt about Caitlin. I was afraid if I got involved with her…well you know the rest," Hawke shrugged.

"Yeah but just because you weren't involved with her romantically it didn't change the fact you loved her," Doc said knowing exactly where Hawke's fears had come from.

"Might have been even worse if I lost her that way because I would have never known what it would have been to at least have had her love for a little while rather than always wonder what if," Hawke said seriously.

"Dom had been harping on me about it for a while and then I read something when I was away with Michael the last few weeks that made me realize that I needed to start living in the here and now and not running from ghosts or pushing away the future that might never be. It was a story about a woman who was dying of cancer. She and her boyfriend went ahead and got married. They knew she wouldn't make it to their first anniversary but her husband had written that they lived more in those few months than in a lifetime. That he'd rather have the memories and the happiness they had in that short time than never having known that kind of love. That it hurt every single day but it was also the best gift he could ever have. If he had to do it over again he said he would, just to have been loved by her for those few months. It got to me. It made me realize that I might just be missing out of something special because I was too afraid to get hurt. I realized that it was better to risk the hurt for the chance of something wonderful."

Doc swallowed hard from Hawke's description of the couple in the story and sighed. "It makes sense, that old saying better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?"

"Yeah, man we are getting maudlin in our old age," Hawke said then with a grin and Doc laughed.

"Hey, we are modern men, we can talk about feelings…and then have a beer and slap each other on the back or something like that," Doc teased and Hawke laughed.

Before they could say anything else, Emily came bouncing down the stairs ahead of Caitlin.

Caitlin curled up on the couch and Emily crawled into her lap and laid against her chest, snuggling with her and playing with Caitlin's left hand, looking at her ring. It was a moment that Hawke knew he'd always have in the back of his mind. This was his life right here and now, Caitlin and Emily.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Caitlin and Emily left with Dom while Doc and Hawke went out in search of possible hiding spots for the killer who had been terrorizing the mountain around where Hawke lived.

While Caitlin and Emily went to the store to get Christmas decorations for the cabin, Dom called Michael and asked him for some protection for the girls when they went back up to the cabin. Michael agreed wholeheartedly to send two of his most trusted men from Zebra Squad and Marella decided to come down too because she wanted to help Caitlin with the cabin and meet Emily. By the time the girl's got back from the store, Dom had two FIRM Zebra Squad security personnel and Marella at the hanger.

He'd seen the men before in various operations they'd performed with Airwolf in support or conjunction with. He took the time while the girls were gone to explain the situation to them and why he was worried about a woman or women alone at the cabin. The men knew about the killings from the news and from the rumors that had spread in the FIRM and had been briefed by Archangel as well. The two were more than happy to protect a member of the Airwolf team.

They'd worked with them before and both men genuinely liked Stringfellow Hawke. They considered him not just a great pilot but also an important part of the agency's assets and they also liked both Dom and Caitlin. She was always friendly and kind to them anytime they'd had any interaction with the Airwolf team. Once on a mission she'd come around with a thermos of coffee, offering it to the squad, it had surprised all of them really. They were accustomed to just being in the background and unnoticed, simply tools to use but she had treated them with a homey kindness. Dom too had always been a friendly sort, telling stories and making them all laugh even when they were in a dire situation.

When Caitlin and Emily drove up in one of the red, white and blue Santini Air jeeps loaded with packages, the men helped her and Marella move them into the waiting FIRM chopper. "I didn't expect to see you guys," Caitlin said with a smile. "It's nice to see you again Joe, how's your wife?"

He was surprised she recalled his name and smiled. "She's well, thank you," he answered as he hefted one of the boxes.

"And you Frank?" she asked. "I didn't know Michael would send two from the squad."

"I guess he wants to make sure you ladies are safe, ma'am," he answered with a smile. He'd always thought Caitlin was cute but he also spied an engagement ring on her left finger. Well that was new.

Marella spotted it too and grabbed Caitlin's hand as she was putting a bag into the helicopter. Emily was chattering away at Dom about all they got at the store. "You've got some stories to tell me I think?"

Caitlin pursed her lips and then laughed. "Oh, Marella, Hawke and I are…well…he asked me to marry him yesterday."

"I..didn't you two just get together over the weekend?" Marella asked completely lost. Michael had told her they had gotten together and were moving in together but he hadn't mentioned engaged!

"Yeah, we got together over the weekend and then yesterday he asked me to marry him. We figured we didn't need to date much or have a long drawn out engagement or anything. So maybe in late January or February we'll be getting married up at the Inn at Crystal Lake," Caitlin said unable to stop smiling she was so happy.

"This isn't just because of Emily, is it?" Marella asked worried for her friend.

"Oh, no. But we do feel she needs two parents after all she's been through," Caitlin explained as they finished packing the last of her purchases into the helicopter. It now smelled of fresh evergreens and herbs she'd gotten for the decorations. She'd promised nothing gaudy and she knew natural things would be right up Hawke's alley. So, they went to a craft store and then a nursery to get the rest.

Once they'd finished loading the helicopter, Caitlin asked Marella, Joe and Frank to come over and meet Emily. All three were taken with the cute little girl. Seeing her and knowing her story after being briefed by Michael and Dom, both men decided that this certainly wasn't an assignment they'd take lightly. The little girl greeted them happily and told Marella she was very pretty in her white dress.

Dom gave both Caitlin and Emily hugs and kisses and watched as the white FIRM helicopter took off to head up to the cabin. Caitlin shared with Marella and Emily her ideas for decorating the cabin and Emily asked if she could make some of the ornaments for the tree. Marella had laughed a bit at the way Emily said ornaments and told the little girl that she thought maybe they could make some homemade clay ornaments. The little girl was intrigued by the idea and Marella told her all about how to make the clay.

When they landed at the cabin, Frank went ahead to the empty cabin just to make sure it was clear for them. Once he'd cleared the house and let the dogs out, he went back to help the others carry everything in. Emily ran to the dogs and played with them a few minutes as the adults made a few trips back and forth.

"Come on, Emily, you'll want to help us unpack all this," Caitlin called and the little girl and the dogs ran back into the cabin.

Several hours later they were putting the finishing touches on the decorations and Marella stepped back from the mantel to give it a once over as she sipped a glass of wine.

"Nothing over the top, nothing gaudy…very natural and very pretty. I think Hawke will approve," Marella said as she looked over at Caitlin as she tied a bow on one of the clay ornaments Emily had made.

The little girl took the little bird and ran over to the tree to hang. Caitlin smiled. "That's what I was going for. I think he was a little worried that it would be more like what Dom considers Christmas décor, ya know?"

"I can imagine," Marella said with a laugh. "This is very understated and tasteful though."

"I think it looks beautiful!" Emily said happily as she took another ornament from Caitlin. They had used cookie cutters to make the white ornaments. They looked lovely tied with red ribbon and jute twine on the tree.

About that time, they heard Frank's gruff voice from the back of the cabin greeting Hawke and Doc. At first Hawke was terrified seeing the man there, what had happened? What was going on? But Frank quickly told him that Caitlin, Emily and Marella were inside so he and Joe were here as protective detail. Hawke sighed in relief and introduced the man to Doc.

"Ooo, now I'm nervous. I wasn't nervous until now," Caitlin laughed.

"He's going to love it, relax," Marella said shaking her head. Emily raced to the back door to greet her new daddy and Uncle Doc.

"Daddy, daddy! We have a surprise!" Emily cried as she ran out the door and into his arms. Hawke laughed and picked her up and swung her in the air before settling her on his hip.

"You do? A surprise, for me?"

"Yep! And I helped a bunch!"

Frank was surprised when he heard Captain Stringfellow Hawke called 'daddy' and then the ring on Caitlin's finger clicked and suddenly he realized that he now knew more about the Airwolf team than he had ever known. No wonder they were so close and so secretive.

"Hi Uncle Doc! We had so much fun today, did you have fun skiing?"

Doc started to laugh and said, "I guess we did. It was a nice day for it." They hadn't found any signs of anyone living or having lived in the places they'd checked today but they did find some jewelry they weren't sure of in the woods. They'd bagged them for the FBI guys tomorrow. They could have been lost by a hiker but it was unlikely. They didn't seem to come from the same person, none of the jewelry items they'd found matched as if they were taken from different people.

When Hawke entered the house, Caitlin was standing in the living room and his eyes were drawn from her nervous smile to the mantel first. Emily was right, it was beautiful. He set the little girl down and took off his sunglasses.

The mantel was covered in a thick weave of evergreen boughs, interspersed with dark green velvet ribbons, red berries and pine cones. It was rather large but balanced well with the stonework and fit the cabin perfectly, it wasn't bright colors or anything fake, it was just right. Just beneath the garland hung 6 burlap stockings. He blinked a few times. "It's beautiful," he said as he walked over to Caitlin and gave her a soft kiss. "Six stockings?"

Emily answered that. She ran over and pointed. "One for mommy, one for daddy, one for Grandpa, one for Tet, one for Sally and one for me! Makes six!"

Hawke laughed. "Oh, I'm sure Sally and Tet appreciate having their own stockings."

Emily just beamed at him and he knew it was her idea. "Come look at the tree! Aunt Marry helped me make clay ormanents!" He laughed at the Aunt Marry but realized Marella might have been a bit hard for Emily to say.

Doc chuckled from his spot in the kitchen and Marella moved over to stand near him. "Caitlin was so nervous Hawke would hate it but I kept telling her that she got everything just right."

"All of you did a lovely job. I'll need to take some pictures for Max, she's going to want to try that mantel thing," he admitted.

Marella laughed. "When Cait first started working on that monster I thought she was nuts and then once she got it all together I was just floored. She even had one of our highly decorated Zebra Squad lieutenants out there hunting the biggest pine cones he could find."

Doc laughed at that and shook his head. "I bet she batted her eyelashes on those big blue eyes of hers and said please and he just about fell over himself to do it too."

"Just about," Marella grinned and then took a sip of her wine.

Hawke was led about the cabin being shown all the decorations and then Cait and Emily dragged him onto the porch to see the decorations there.

"How did you do all this in one day?" Hawke asked as he slipped his arm around Cait's waist and settled the other hand on Emily's little shoulder.

"I had lots of help from Marella and Emily and Joe and Frank helped a little too," she said with a grin.

The very idea of getting two of the top security men from the FIRM to help with Christmas decorations made Hawke chuckle.

"It's really okay? I tried to keep everything looking like it really belonged," Caitlin asked.

"It's perfect," Hawke said and pulled her close for a sweet kiss.

Marella came out the door with Frank and Joe and smiled at the little family before her. She was truly pleased for both Hawke and Caitlin. They deserved every ounce of happiness they could get. "We should be on our way now that you gentlemen are back."

"You sure you won't stay for dinner?" Caitlin asked.

"We need to get back, I still have some paperwork to file today," Marella said.

"Bye, Aunt Marry, thank you for helping me make clay today," Emily said smiling up at the pretty woman. Marella smiled at the girl and leaned down to give her a hug.

"Anytime, sweetie," Marella said as she released her and patted Caitlin on the arm before she left.

They watched as the helicopter lifted off and returned inside to find Doc kicked back in a chair looking at the tree.

"You ladies did a beautiful job. It all suits the cabin really well," Doc said, thinking that Max would love what Caitlin had come up with.

"Thank you. I'm glad it turned out the way I imagined it in my head," Caitlin admitted.

"Smells good in here too," Hawke said as he inspected the tree a bit more. The scent of the fresh evergreens, magnolia leaves and bundles of basil and thyme she'd used made him feel even more at home. The handmade ornaments by Emily were also a nice touch and made him want to preserve this memory forever. He went over to his pack and took out the camera they'd used that day to take pictures of where they found the jewelry before they collected them. He put in a new roll of film and started to take pictures. Caitlin was surprised and Emily ran over in front of the tree and did a pose pointing up at it and grinning hugely. Hawke chuckled and snapped a few of her.

"You little ham, stand next to Cait," he said and Emily ran over to her and stood in front of Caitlin who rested her hands on the little girl's shoulders. He snapped a few pictures and Doc stood up.

"Your turn, go, my dad never had many pictures with himself with us as kids because he was always the one taking them. Go on, stand with Cait and Emily by the tree," Doc said. Hawke went to join his girls and wrapped his arms around Caitlin. They looked gorgeous together the three of them.

Just as Doc put the lens cap back on the camera they heard Dom's helicopter.

"Grandpa's here!" Emily announced happily and Caitlin heard her timer in the kitchen going off.

"Right on time too, dinner should be ready in a few minutes," she said as she headed to the kitchen.

Emily and Hawke grabbed their jackets so they could go out and see Dom's reaction to the porch. The man stopped before he got to the steps and just stared. It was very tasteful and beautiful he thought, Cait certainly outdid herself on this.

"Whatcha think, Grandpa?" Emily asked and he smiled at the little girl.

"I think you and Cait and Marella must be magic because this is just magical, sweetheart!" Dom told her and Hawke laughed.

"They did a great job, didn't they?"

"Scrooge approved?"

"Yeah, Scrooge approved," Hawke said with a grin. "Come on, Cait's just taking dinner out of the oven."

Dom whistled when he walked in and stared at the tree and mantel and the garland on the staircase. "Isn't that gorgeous?"

Emily grabbed his hand and led him to the tree. "See the ormanents we made? Aunt Marry teached me…err…uh, taught me how to make clay," Emily explained.

"I see that, wow, you did a great job, Emily!"

The little girl just beamed up at him and then Caitlin called everyone to dinner. Hawke and Doc were already setting the table and putting side dishes there. They moved the pretty centerpiece to the bar so it would be out of the way for now.

"Come on, let's go eat dinner, it smells good, doesn't it?" Dom said as they headed to the dining area.

"Mommy made nutty fish," Emily said as she hopped into her chair. Dom gave her an odd look and Caitlin started to laugh.

"Pecan crusted trout…" Caitlin explained.

Hawke grinned. "I kinda like Emily's name for it, nutty fish."

"Guess it is in the same family with dynamited chicken," Caitlin said as she sat down.

"Do I really want to know?" Doc asked with a chuckle.

"Chicken enchiladas to be honest. Mom used to use a pressure cooker to cook the chicken until it was falling to pieces. It made it easy for her to shred that way and she saved the stock for soup the next day. It was hard for Erin to say chicken enchiladas so she called it dynamited chicken because she said it looked like the chicken exploded…or as she said espolded," Caitlin explained.

Doc laughed. "When I was little I told my cousin that we were eating German shepherd cake and he started crying. I meant German chocolate cake…he thought we were eating a cake made from a real dog."

Emily looked at him horrified and looked at Sally and back. "That would make me cry too!"

"I felt terrible after I realized what I said that upset him. I just mixed up the name but boy was my mom and aunt mad at me," Doc said with a laugh.

They exchanged a few fun stories from their childhoods and learned that Hawke had been a daredevil even as a kid, jumping out of his and Sinjin's treehouse until he broke his collarbone. Dom said he put a cargo net under the treehouse since the boys would still jump out rather than climb down. At least that way there were no more broken bones.

The meal passed quickly and Dom was helping Caitlin with the dishes when the satellite phone rang. It was Michael of course and Hawke talked to him for a few minutes before coming back into the kitchen.

"Well, looks like tomorrow I'll need to head to town with Emily, Caitlin I'd like you to come too. An attorney contacted the FIRM today looking for me. It has to do with Esme's estate and I guess it is time to talk funeral arrangements as well. The FBI will be releasing her remains later this week," Hawke informed them quietly, not wanting Emily to overhear. Thankfully, Doc had her occupied in the floor with the dogs. Well, Tet wasn't terribly playful but Sally was playing tug of war with a toy that Caitlin and Emily had gotten for her when they were shopping. She was still a young dog and had been well behaved being in a new environment but she needed something to play with. Tet wasn't much on playing anymore.

"I wonder why they contacted you though," Caitlin asked as she dried a plate.

"Probably one of the guys from the FBI or Sherriff Mason let them know I was watching Emily. He's a local guy, in Fox Ridge. Probably did Esme's will. She didn't have any family but Emily," Hawke shrugged. "We'll find out tomorrow, I guess."

Hawke told Dom he'd take over dish duty for him so he could spend some time with Emily before he headed out. The older man didn't waste time drying his hands to go spend some time with his granddaughter.

Hawke helped Caitlin with the dishes and told her again how much he loved what she, Emily and Marella had done with the cabin. He hadn't expected to actually *like* the decorations, he just expected to tolerate them.

Caitlin laughed and said, "You know I did promise it would be tasteful."

"You did. I just wasn't expecting it, so many people these days have fake trees and fake this and plastic decorations, it just always seemed like a bunch of junk to me. What you all did here, it is all real, something that'll just go back to the Earth," Hawke explained.

"That was the way we decorated at home to be honest. Mom didn't do fake trees or fake garland. We have some special glass ornaments and the things all of us kids made at school and stuff but she liked decorating with things we had around the ranch. Colorful fruit in glass bowls, oranges with cloves in them, magnolia leaves and holly berries and leaves. Narcissus and poinsettias that grew on the ranch and she even used cactus in her Christmas decorations. It was always lovely," Caitlin explained.

Hawke smiled at the woman he loved as she dried the last dish and he cleaned up the counters. "I guess maybe your mom isn't all bad," he teased.

"Oh, I guess I do make her sound terrible, don't I? She really is great but we don't see eye to eye on my choice of career and moving away from Texas ya know? She just worries and she takes all that worry and fretting over me out on me when we talk. I know she wants only the best for me but it's my life, it is hard to get her to see that sometimes. I guess no matter how old I get she'll always see me as a little girl," Caitlin explained. "I think once she meets you and gets to know you, she'll love you, String."

"I hope so, I sure don't want to be one of those stereotype husbands whose mother-in-law hates him and vice versa," Hawke said as he pulled Caitlin close to him and gave her a soft kiss.

"Mmm, I doubt that. She'll be surprised and happy that we finally got together to be honest. She might think it is all too fast but I'll make her see reason. Besides she knew you were the reason I came out to California in the first place and she knew you were the reason I stayed," Caitlin admitted.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get my head out of my ass," Hawke said honestly and Caitlin laughed.

"Me too but that's all in the past."


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning since the family was going into town and Dom had left the night before, Doc decided he wanted to get a little fishing in. "I'll catch 'em if you'll cook 'em, Hawke!" So that was the plan for the day.

Caitlin dressed Emily in a warm red sweater dress and white leggings to go with her little black Mary Janes. She curled the girl's hair with her curling iron and pulled it up into a red and white bow. She even got out her little pearl earrings and necklace for her and the child looked adorable.

Caitlin dressed in a nice dark brown suede skirt and a forest green sweater with her tall leather boots. The pair went downstairs to wait on Hawke who took his turn cleaning up and shaving. He dressed in dark jeans with a tan suede blazer over one of his plaid dress shirts. He figured they looked like an average family going to church or something.

Caitlin had gone ahead and packed Emily's tote in case she got bored and had thrown a few snacks in it just in case. Who knew how long today's outing would take? Their first stop would be breakfast at the hotel restaurant where Hawke would drop off what he and Doc found the day before with Gideon and Rossi and then they'd head to the attorney's office. They also needed to make arrangements at the funeral home. Hawke figured he'd do that while Caitlin took Emily to a few of the local shops. Maybe get a few ideas of what to get her for Christmas.

With their plan set, Hawke led the girls out to Doc's helicopter and they took it up. Doc waved to them from the porch and then went back in with the dogs to get his fishing gear.

It was a short trip from the cabin to Fox Ridge and soon they were ensconced in a booth at the restaurant with Gideon and Rossi. Hawke handed over the envelope of items they'd collected and they kept their peace, not saying anything in front of Emily. After everyone finished eating, Caitlin took Emily to the ladies' room and Hawke filled in the two FBI agents on what they'd discovered.

"Trophies," Gideon said with a frown. "Looks like you found his cache of trophies, if he goes back there and finds them gone he's going to be angry."

"He's gotta know with the way the police and your agents have been going around that mountain that they'd be found," Hawke said.

"A rational person would be, this guy isn't rational," Rossi said with a shrug as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Well, I just hope what we've found helps," Hawke said with a sigh. "I wish there was more I could do but Doc and I can't make good time in all this snow and we didn't get out at all the other day during the storm."

"We didn't either. We couldn't have found our own asses with both hands if we'd tried in that mess," Rossi told him and Hawke laughed.

"Dom had security brought in from the FIRM yesterday because Caitlin and Emily were decorating the cabin for the holidays while we were out. He didn't want the girls up there alone and I'd have had a conniption if I'd known they were there alone," Hawke said. "Did Michael get you the equipment he mentioned?"

"Yep, all of the empty cabins have been set up so if anyone enters them they'll get a signal and notify us here immediately," Gideon answered. "Thank you for pulling in what you could with him."

"Anytime, this mess has sure put a damper on the holiday up here. Usually this place is more packed than this," Hawke said with a shrug. Not that he cared, he liked not having too many tourists about but it wasn't right either.

The girls soon returned and Rossi and Gideon said their goodbye's and thanks for breakfast which Hawke had sprung for. "Well, we better head over to this attorney's office."

He picked up Emily and carried her on his hip and tangled the fingers of his other hand with Caitlin's. It was a short walk from the hotel restaurant to the lawyer's office and the morning air was cool but not nearly as cold as it was up on the mountain. When they walked into the warm office, a dark-haired secretary greeted them.

Hawke explained that a Mr. Johnstone had called him, and informed her of his name.

"Oh yes, he's been expecting you. You can go on in," she told them and they walked through a pair of double oak doors into the man's office. It was a nice office but not overdone and not posh at all which made Hawke feel a little more relaxed.

A short man with silver hair at his temples stood up and walked around the desk to shake Hawke's hand. "Mr. Hawke, thank you for coming in on short notice," the man said. He had a pleasant voice and a kind face.

He turned to Caitlin and welcomed her and Emily as well and asked them to have a seat. Caitlin settled Emily in a chair with her coloring book so she wouldn't get bored listening to the adults. The child started coloring right away and tuned out most of what they were talking about.

"Mr. Hawke, I called you because Esme Williams was one of my clients. I handled Charlie's will as well and I also handled everything when young Jillian and her husband Robert passed. Robert had no siblings either and his parents were not in good enough health to take little Emily at the time. Marion has since passed and Jacob well, he's in a nursing home now. So, Esme, being a woman of her years knew she had to make arrangements for Emily should something happen to her. She must have just thought it was a good time to do it in the last several months, maybe the things happening around here prompted it. I can't say," the lawyer explained.

He paused and looked down at the paperwork on his desk. "Now, Mr. Hawke, how long have you been friends with Esme Williams?"

"To be honest I've known her my entire life. She and Charlie had been neighbors since before my grandparents passed. I grew up knowing them, knew Jilly too but she was much younger than my brother and me. We spent a lot of time at the cabin as kids, even after my grandparents were gone. Even after my parents died, Dominic Santini, our guardian would take us up to the cabin. When I came back from the war and settled at the cabin, I talked with Esme often and helped her out with a few projects around her place once Charlie was gone. I'd spent some time with both she and Emily ever since she took her in after the accident. So, I guess in a way I've been friends with her 36 years, my whole life," Hawke explained.

"I see, well then this explains her addendum she added this summer to her will. Mr. Hawke, I see you already have Emily in your custody, the Sheriff explained that situation to me. I'm to inform you that Esme Williams named you as guardian to Emily Louise Black in her will."

Hawke blinked, he was stunned. "But…I mean that's wonderful, we were planning to adopt her anyway but Esme never told me anything about it," Hawke said as Caitlin took his hand and squeezed.

"She may have been waiting for the right time, Mr. Hawke, it isn't an easy subject to broach with someone after all and she was a healthy active woman for her age. She probably assumed she'd have the time to talk to you," Mr. Johnstone said then.

"So, what does this mean?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, ma'am it means that the state can't interfere with Mr. Hawke adopting Emily officially since he's been named as guardian by her previous legal guardian. It also means that he'll need to be executor of the child's estate since she's a minor," the lawyer explained.

Hawke sat back in his chair and looked at Caitlin and back at Johnstone. "What exactly does an executor of a child's estate do?"

"Well, you might talk to your former guardian Mr. Santini, I'm sure he can give you a little personal advice there but basically you are the child's personal representative in legal matters dealing with the estate. Generally, the law doesn't allow minors to directly receive inheritances so you work with a fiduciary to help manage the inheritance in the best interests of Emily. All court fees and estate bills will be paid first and then proper probate notices will be made. I have a listing of all properties, accounts and so on in Esme's will so that everything can be transferred to the fiduciary on a special form for probate," Johnstone explained. "I imagine the legal department at the FIRM will be able to help you out as well."

"Okay. Well the Williams' were great people but not rich so I figure it is the cabin and land and the bakery that are the largest assets," Hawke said.

"There's some personal property like her truck and she did have a modest life insurance policy, funeral insurance and some savings, all of which goes to Emily. Now in the case of the bakery, she noted that she would like to leave it to Sarah if she wants it."

Hawke nodded. "I sort of expected that anyway. Not like Emily is old enough to run it and I certainly can't."

Caitlin and Johnstone both laughed a little at that.

"We don't have to begin anything today of course, I just wanted you to be informed about it all and have the worry of the state coming to take Emily off your mind. You may still get a visit from child services, just to see how she's doing. She will also continue receiving benefits from a couple of different places, as an orphan she receives a Social Security benefit from her parents, she also has some insurance distributions from her parents' deaths and now from Esme's," Johnstone explained.

"Yeah, I remember Sinjin…my brother, and I got things like that. Dom handled it all for us until we were 18," Hawke said, remembering a little about it. "What he didn't use to feed and clothe us, he put away in savings for both of us. We will likely not need to use those funds at all and will put it all back for Emily's college and so on."

Johnstone smiled and nodded. "That's good to hear. Now, I'm going to give this to you because I know you need to make arrangements," his eyes slid to Emily and he didn't want to say the word funeral. Hawke got his meaning though and took the envelope, it had a name of a funeral home on it. "This is what Esme had already arranged."

Hawke nodded and looked at Caitlin. "Listen, Mr. Johnstone, now that I'm going to have Emily to think of and Caitlin and I are engaged, we plan to marry next month. We might want to come back here and talk with you about taking care of things like this for us. It isn't something I want to think about but it will need to be done."

Caitlin frowned but she knew Hawke was right. They'd need to make a will just in case for Emily's sake.

"I'll be glad to do it, Mr. Hawke," Johnstone said.

They thanked the man, took the paperwork he'd given them along with the envelope and left. In the lobby as they were putting their coats back on, Hawke looked at Caitlin seriously.

"I'm going to go see these folks," he said holding up the envelope so she could see the name. "Why don't you and Emily go shopping? See if you can get an idea what she wants for Christmas or something?" Hawke offered and handed her some cash. She frowned at the cash and he closed her hands around it.

"We are getting married, Cait. What's mine is yours, so don't argue," he said seriously.

"Okay, okay. Kiss me then to pay your dues," she said with a grin.

"Ah, I love paying my debts to you," he teased as he gave her a soft kiss.

Emily was looking at the fish tank in the lobby of the office and not paying any attention to the adults around her. She had heard some of what they talked about, she didn't understand but she knew it had to do with her granny being gone. It made her sad but she didn't want to get upset and worry her new parents so she just tried to ignore how much she missed granny.

After finalizing everything at the funeral home, it took Hawke stepping into several stores before he located Caitlin and Emily. They were in a children's clothing store and Hawke smiled as he watched Emily model a new casual jacket. Her other one had been torn so Caitlin was getting her a replacement. Of course, it was pink, but this one had white fake fur around the hood. Caitlin got her matching gloves and a scarf to go with it.

"Anybody hungry for lunch?" he asked and Emily nodded.

"Can we get pizza?"

"Sure can," he said as they paid for their purchases and headed out.

He made sure to steer them far away from the bakery just in case it would upset Emily and found a newer Italian place which also served handmade pizzas that had opened earlier in the year. They were seated and the waitress came around to give them glasses of water and take their orders.

"Grandpa would like this place," Emily said as she wiggled a little in the booster seat so she didn't have to sit on her knees like she did at home.

"Yes, I think he would," Caitlin answered with a grin.

"What if we get a couple pizzas to go just in case Uncle Doc doesn't have any luck fishing today?" Hawke said with a grin.

Emily nodded happily at that.

Hawke noticed that a couple of older women kept looking at Emily and he figured they were probably people who knew Esme and had heard the news. He hoped they would just leave without bothering them but he sighed heavily when he saw them pay their tab and head toward their table.

"Emily, dear?" One of the women said and Caitlin looked up at them, feeling the same worry that Hawke was.

"Hi, Mrs. Charlotte," Emily said with a smile.

"Oh, I thought that was you. I, uh…" she paused and looked at the two adults at the table. How did you tell a 4-year-old you were sorry for their loss?

"Hi, Mrs. Charlotte, was it? I'm Caitlin O'Shannessy and this is Stringfellow Hawke, Emily's legal guardian. How do you know Emily?" Caitlin said trying to head off the awkwardness as much as she could.

"Oh. Well, we go to the same church. I just wanted to tell her that I was glad to see her and that we missed her on Sunday," the woman said trying to cover for her faux pas.

The other woman with her had just smiled and gave a little wave to Emily.

"She wasn't really feeling up to church this last Sunday but maybe this week?" Caitlin asked Emily and Emily nodded a little nod.

"I do miss, Macy and Kim," Emily said referring to her friends in Sunday School class.

"Well that is understandable…what with…well…with it as cold and snowy as it has been, attendance has been a bit low," she said trying to just gloss over it all.

"We should be going, it was nice to meet you Miss O'Shannessy and Mr. Hawke," the other lady in a purple dress said then. "My name is Patricia Seaton. My husband Daniel is one of the doctors at the hospital. We were just heading there to take him something to eat. You all have a nice day," Mrs. Seaton said as she tugged on her friend's arm and they left.

Hawke looked at Caitlin after the ladies left and they both were relieved that went better than it could have.

That evening Caitlin and Hawke were struggling with whether Emily should attend the funeral for Esme or not. Her age made it difficult for them to decide and they turned to their friends Doc and Dom to ask their advice after Emily had been put to bed for the night.

Dom was quiet for a while as he thought about the problem but Doc seemed to have an opinion.

"Emily is smart for her age, she understands that her granny went to heaven, like her parents. She knows that they didn't come back and knows that granny won't either. If you explain that is a special ceremony to say goodbye to her granny it might just make it easier for her in the long run. If we try to protect kids too much sometimes it just makes it worse when they are older. I think you should leave it up to Emily, explain it and ask if she wants to go or not," Doc said reasonably.

Dom sighed heavily. "I didn't hold you and Sinjin back from your parent's funerals and you'd already attended your grandparent's funerals when you were close to Emily's age now. It is ultimately up to you and Caitlin, you're her parents now but keeping her from having the chance to say goodbye might be worse for her like Doc said. The child is smart, let her make the decision."

"As much as I want to protect her from everything you might be right. I don't want to deny her the chance for at least some closure if that is what she wants," Hawke said after a moment.

"I hate it but for the same reason, I want to protect her from everything. She already understands that granny is gone. Nothing is going to take that pain away. She needs to be able to say goodbye if she wants and to see how many people loved her granny too. In some ways to know she isn't alone, that there are others who miss her granny," Caitlin said softly.

"So, it's decided then," Hawke said softly. "We'll have to talk to her about it, tell her what it will be like and what to expect and let her know that it is okay to cry as much as she wants to. And let her know that it is her choice."

"Exactly, she needs to know that it is okay to be upset," Caitlin said softly. "I get the feeling sometimes when she gets real quiet that she is trying to hide her fears and pain."

"Me too. I've noticed it a few times the last several days. Especially when she's being clingy with you, Cait. She tends to stick very close to you, a step behind or right at your side or wants to crawl up in your lap or mine when normally she's pretty independent," Hawke said as he leaned forward to reach for his cup of tea.

"She got that way with us at the hanger that day, just a little while after lunch it seemed like Dom had a little shadow everywhere he went. He ended up sitting down in his chair with her in his lap and took a little siesta while I cleaned up some of the mess from when she'd made decorations. It seemed a little out of character for her to settle down like that. She never actually slept. I could see her watching me with those big blue eyes of hers but she just laid quietly on Dom's chest listening to his heart. It wasn't until he started to snore that she perked up and started to giggle," Doc said honestly. He hadn't told them about that yet because he didn't want them to worry, he figured from what he knew from school and training that it was normal for a child who'd just lost their parental figure to do that.

"Not even related to you and she takes after you, String," Dom said with a shrug. "You always got real quiet when you were upset too as a kid. It took me a while to really catch on to that."

Caitlin sighed and leaned over with her head on Hawke's shoulder. "I am not looking forward to the next few days," she admitted. Hawke reached around her and pulled her close to his side.

"We'll get through it together."


	11. Chapter 11

In the still dark early morning hours down the mountain another home was broken into and another woman attacked but this one had been younger and had been prepared. Melissa Jenkins wounded the killer enough that he stumbled away into the snow, leaving a trail of blood. She had been badly injured, but she'd had a radio and was able to radio for help since her phone line too had been cut.

She told the paramedics and doctors and officers as much as she could before she'd had to go into surgery and they hoped to find out more later once she woke up. Meanwhile, the state police and every other law enforcement in the area was tracking the blood in the snow.

Doc awoke on the sofa bed to the squawk of the radio, he stumbled to it and answered. It didn't take him long to run up the stairs to the loft.

"Hawke…" he called softly to wake his friend.

"Hmm, what? Doc? You okay?"

"The sheriff just called, there's been another attack, but the woman fought him off and lived. She's in surgery and she injured the guy bad, they've got a blood trail, they asked if we could offer some air support," Doc said softly.

"I won't leave the girls alone," Hawke said worried that like a wounded animal the guy could end up here.

"I'll call Dom, have him meet you at the lair, the Lady would do better for tracking with her scanners. I'll stay with Cait and Emily," Doc offered.

"Right, lemme get dressed, Caitlin, baby?" he whispered but she was already awake.

"Go. Doc will take care of us. I'll get up now and let Emily sleep," Caitlin answered.

Doc and Caitlin went downstairs where she started a pot of coffee and got out a thermos for Hawke and Doc unmade the sofa bed and set it to rights after he had called a grumpy Dom.

Hawke came down the stairs in a hurry and Caitlin ran over, kissed him soundly, gave him the thermos of coffee and told him to be careful.

The pair watched from the doorway as Hawke took Doc's helicopter and headed off to the lair.

Caitlin went to the satellite phone and called the number of the FBI agents. They were about to head out on the search, she let them know that Hawke was coming with a helicopter equipped with heat scanners. They were surprised but didn't ask questions.

Doc was sitting at the bar when she returned from the phone. "I hope they catch him," she said softly and Doc nodded.

"Me too, Cait."

It was just a short time later that both Dom and Hawke were racing toward the mountain in Airwolf. Dom was working the scanners, audio and heat sensors. They were picking up radio traffic from the various ground search teams.

"Gideon, this is Hawke, if you can hear me, just say," he said into the same band that the radios were tuned to.

"Hawke, are you in the area with that bird of yours?"

"Yeah, I'm coming up the west side of the pass now. Where do you want me to focus my search pattern?"

"Northeast, up toward those caves you guys explored, looks like he thinks high ground would be better," Gideon answered, huffing and puffing a little as he ran over the snow-covered ground.

"String, I got a single heat source, running well ahead of the others. They seem to be weaving like they are wounded. Probably him," Dom said. "I've got a heading keyed in."

"Alright, I'll follow the scanners lead," Hawke answered. He could hear Rossi talking to one of the state police team and knew he was toward the head of the lead search team.

"Rossi, he's dead ahead of you about 60 feet," Hawke told him knowing the men on the ground could barely see, the sun was not up yet and what little light there was from the clear night sky would be blotted out under all the pine trees.

"There is a clearing ahead of him where the mountainside has a natural plateau. I'm going to see if I can herd him that way," Hawke explained.

"Herd him? You do remember you're in a helicopter, right?" Rossi yelled.

"You just worry about the ground, I'll worry about the air and what I can do from here," Hawke announced. He had Dom hit all their lights and got the visual of the man ahead. He was a really big man and was limping. "Come on big guy move up into the clearing…" Hawke murmured to himself.

Just as the clearing was ahead of them, Hawke angled the nose of the Lady down and skimmed over the treetops. He guided her with enough speed to be on top of the killer within moments. He kept pinning the man, either under Airwolf or bumping him with her, knocking him down repeatedly into the snow. It was the best they could do slowing him down for the others at this close range. He couldn't use chain guns this close. Well, he could but he figured they'd want something left of the guy. He also didn't want to ram him so hard he killed him either. Hawke relayed to Rossi and Gideon that he had the man pinned in the clearing but he wasn't sure how long he could keep him there using his helicopter as a road block.

When the others caught up, Hawke backed off Airwolf a little but then the guy scrambled forward and threw a large rock with surprising accuracy, nailing Rossi right in the head.

"Well, shit," Hawke spat and moved to lower Airwolf just inches above the downed FBI agent. He hoped Rossi was okay but he wasn't going to let that guy get another shot at him with a rock or anything else.

The man was out of his mind and threw himself at the cockpit, slamming his body against the black helicopter and growling like a wild animal.

"Jesus," Dom murmured from his seat as he watched helplessly.

"This guy is out of his mind," Hawke said. "Gideon, Mason, anyone! Get your asses up here, Rossi is down," he growled into the radio.

Hawke just continued to use Airwolf to protect Rossi, and let the killer wear himself out fighting against the machine.

Gideon broke through the trees to the right of them and Hawke nudged the cyclic forward enough to hit the guy, pushing him back more away from Rossi's body beneath Airwolf.

It was only a moment later that the man was down on the ground, howling. Gideon had kneecapped him.

Hawke backed the Lady up carefully away from Rossi and set her down. He jumped out with his weapon drawn and kept it trained on the crazed man as he ran over to check on the FBI agent. "Hey, man, you okay?" he asked as he noticed Rossi trying to get up.

"Yeah, thanks to you. I think he might have ripped me apart," the dark-haired man answered as he lifted his fingers to his temple and saw they came away bloody. "He was a damn good shot with that rock."

"Sorry I had to keep you pinned under her, I didn't have much choice," Hawke answered as he helped the other man up.

"I've never seen anyone maneuver a helicopter like that in my life," Rossi said as he weaved on his feet. "Impressive."

"She's an impressive machine," Hawke said and Rossi chuckled.

"Yeah, she is but I was talking about the pilot," Rossi answered then. Gideon ran over, out of breath as the state police and paramedics were trying to control the prisoner. They had to knock him out with some drug and everyone seemed to finally relax.

"I've never in my life seen someone use a helicopter that way," Gideon said shaking his head.

"Necessity is the mother of invention," Hawke said with a shrug as he holstered his pistol.

"You need a lift to the hospital?" he asked Rossi.

"In that? Hell, yes!"

Hawke laughed. "Lemme radio the State Police helicopter so he can swap with me. Not enough room for both of us to land. "You staying here Gideon or you want to go to the hospital with Rossi?"

"I'll stay, wrap things up here and ride in with the prisoner," Gideon answered and held out his hand to Hawke for a firm shake.

Hawke loaded a still wobbly Rossi into Airwolf and headed for Fox Ridge Medical, radioing ahead with details and let them know they'd have a wounded prisoner coming in behind them with the police. Once he dropped the conversation with them he heard the police helicopter take it from there, a paramedic relaying details.

They landed in the rear parking area of the hospital and Hawke told Dom to take the lady home and bring Doc's helicopter back to pick him up. He went in to sit and wait on Rossi and called Caitlin and Doc filling them in on the morning's events.

The doctor came out to see him while he was sitting in the waiting area, "You're the man who brought Agent Rossi in?"

"Yeah, how's he doin'?" Hawke said standing up to talk to the doctor.

"He'll be fine, minor concussion and a few stitches but he should be fine. He might have quite a headache for a while, we've given him some anti-inflammatory medicine to help relieve that. I'd like to keep him overnight just for observation to be on the safe side," the doctor explained.

"Thanks, doctor. Can I see him before I head out?"

"Oh sure, come on," the doctor said leading him to one of the exam rooms. "We'll take him upstairs to a room overnight."

"He has an FBI partner that came in behind us with the prisoner," Hawke explained and the doctor nodded.

"Yeah, understand that prisoner is who killed all those girls and almost got that girl last night."

"Yep, he still sedated? Coz you know ya'll might want to keep him that way," Hawke told him.

"Yes, he'll actually be going up to surgery shortly," the doctor explained as he opened the door for Hawke to enter Rossi's room. "I'll come by to check on him later."

"Hey, heard you got some stitches," Hawke said with a grin when he entered the room.

"Yeah. Hell, of a headache too but I'll be fine. They want me to stay overnight, I don't want to but Gideon will insist if the doctor tells him so I might as well just stay," the man grumbled and Hawke laughed.

"Not much for hospitals myself," Hawke said and looked around.

"I'm waiting on my ride back up to the cabin. Dom took the Lady back to her hiding place," Hawke explained.

"The Lady? So that's what you call her. Hawke, I want to thank you again for what you did. I mean, that guy would have killed me I have no doubt of that," Rossi told him again.

"I know he would have, he's completely out of his mind. It was like a wild animal throwing himself at the cockpit. I've seen junkies act crazy, ya know? I've seen men lose it in a battle but I've never seen anything like that before. He was like some sort of feral animal. Almost like he was rabid or something," Hawke said shuddering a bit as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, if you hadn't maneuvered the Lady over me like that I have no doubt he'd have ripped into me like he did his other victims. After seeing him…."

"He only used his hands," Hawke finished for him.

"We…we didn't want to believe it from the autopsy reports," Rossi said simply and Hawke realized they knew but they just didn't want to know.

"I'm glad I didn't know," Hawke admitted. "Some job you've got there, Agent Rossi."

"We can't all work for the FIRM with international intrigue, spies and super advanced helicopters," Rossi said with a grin.

"If ah, you don't mind can you just say it was a regular black helicopter in your report?"

"Have a feeling if I didn't that I'd get a visit from your friend Michael," Rossi answered.

"Something like that."

"You were the one who took out those rockets over D.C. weren't you? I heard rumors through various agency contacts. I was certain that our jets didn't have time to engage and I didn't see or hear them from my vantage point that day but I did hear a squall that sounded awfully familiar this morning," Rossi told him.

"If I told ya'…

"You'd have to kill me…yeah I know. Well thanks for saving my bacon more than once."

Hawke smiled and turned when the door opened.

"Hey, I hear they are keeping you overnight?" Gideon said as he walked in.

"Good news travels fast," Rossi joked and Gideon turned to look at Hawke. "Thanks for your help this morning."

"No problem. I need to get back to the cabin and my girls. If you guys are ever out this way again, give me a call," Hawke offered as he left.

Hawke had just walked into the parking lot to find Doc's helicopter coming in. It was time to go back home. He was tired, a few hours' sleep was not enough and he was starving. They'd have to take Dom back down to pick up his jeep. He figured he'd go with them and pick up one of the helicopters to bring back up to the cabin. The day was going to be a long one.

It was late afternoon by the time Hawke made it back to the cabin and Doc had gathered his things to return home as well. Dom had come back with Hawke and was going to spend the night and they'd all fly back to the hanger in the morning. The day after would be Esme's funeral and they thought tomorrow they would talk with Emily about it. Tonight, they wanted to just be a family and Dom was just glad that Hawke wanted him there. He didn't want to be alone tonight.

Seeing that man, throwing himself at Airwolf had been startling. He and Hawke had seen a lot of things both had lived through wars, Dom had been through two plus all the things they'd dealt with since the Lady had come into their lives and nothing had prepared him for this morning. To see a man reduced to that sort of wild animalistic behavior had been more than just a little unsettling.

Hawke had been a bit quieter than usual, cuddled on the couch with Caitlin and Emily was in the floor playing with her dolls. Dom had also been a bit more reserved than normal too, both men had been affected by the events of that morning.

Hawke shifted on the couch and slid down until his head was on Caitlin's shoulder this time and her hand was idly threading through his hair as they sat together watching Emily.

"I don't know about you two but I'm looking forward to a regular day of work at the hanger," Dom said out of the blue and Hawke chuckled a little.

"You know, I think I agree with you," Hawke said softly. "I'm looking forward to just a little bit of normal tomorrow. Plus, we haven't gotten to check out what Emily did decorating the hanger."

Caitlin smiled when Emily looked up at Hawke and scooted over to lean against the couch by his leg. "I like the hanger," Emily said with a smile. "Grandpa said I can help him tomorrow."

Dom chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Don't get too excited, it's just a few errands but I figured she might like going with me."

"More fun than I'll be having, there are some ledgers with my name on them," Caitlin said with a sigh and Hawke tipped his head up to look at her.

"Don't even try to offer, String. I know how much you hate dealing with paperwork. Besides I thought you were going to work on that camera mount tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah I almost forgot I need to also work on the cyclic on the MD you said it was sticking a little," Hawke said remembering that Caitlin had mentioned it several days ago.

"What else do you do, daddy?" Emily asked and Hawke looked down at the child and sat up.

"Well, I work on most of the equipment and I fly many of the stunts and do some camera work sometimes. I also work on building things that help us complete our jobs safely," Hawke explained.

"What about you, mommy. I know you fly hellocopters too but what else do you do?" Emily asked curiously.

"I fly and work on helicopters and planes too but don't know nearly as much about fixing them as daddy and grandpa do. I also help grandpa manage his money for the hanger. I help make sure he gets paid for the work we all do for people and I make sure that things that we buy we have records of so we can be properly paid and pay our bills on time. I also teach new pilots how to fly," Caitlin explained.

"When can I learn to fly?" Emily asked and they all laughed.

"You're still too small to be able to learn yet. Once you are big enough and you still want to then one or all three of us will teach you, but you can't get your license to fly alone until you are 17," Caitlin explained.

"Seventeen! But that's so long!" Emily complained and Hawke laughed.

"As soon as you can reach the rotor pedals and are strong enough to control the cyclic you'll be able to start learning, you just can't fly by yourself until you're 17 is all," Hawke explained.

"How can I grow faster?" Emily asked and Dom just about howled at that in laughter.

"Oh, little one, you just pay attention to us when we fly so you can see how we do it, keep eating good, playing hard and you'll grow fast enough," Dom told her with a big smile.

Emily thought about that for a second and then smiled. "So, I'm too little to fly and too little to drive a car can I ask Santa for a bicycle?"

"Planning on going somewhere?" Hawke asked with a grin.

"Nooo, just wanna be able to go faster when I do," Emily said and Hawke cracked up at that.

"We've created a speed demon," Caitlin said with a grin. "I think Santa would love to bring you a bicycle but it'll be awful hard to learn here at the cabin."

"I could ride it at grandpa's hanger," the smart child answered in return.

"You sure could!" Dom said.

"But I already talked to Santa and didn't ask him for one. What if he doesn't know?" Emily said in a defeated tone.

"Well, we can write Santa tomorrow if you want, we can drop it in the mail at the hanger," Caitlin suggested and the little girl beamed at her. That way, Caitlin could find out what other things the child had asked Santa for.

Hawke realized that the events of the day seemed to fade a bit. Just like that, Emily's enthusiasm to learn to fly, her desire for a bicycle, heck even her asking about what work they did had made him feel more settled. It had pushed away the dark thoughts of how horrible everything had been the last week and reminded him of all the wonderful too. His relationship with Caitlin, his love for this little girl that had only grown more in the few days she'd been his ward…really his daughter. It also reminded him of what a good friend Doc was and how lucky he was to have the people in his life that he did. Maybe if that man had someone, anyone who cared, none of this would have happened? Hell, some part of him had thought that could have been him at one point in his life but it was Dom's persistence and love that kept him from dwelling too much on the losses he'd suffered.

Hawke had never considered himself a lucky man, cursed he'd thought but now he realized yes, some bad things had happened to him, just like he'd told Emily, the other night. But he was also lucky to have loved ones who wouldn't let him fall into a pit of despair. He even found himself thankful for Airwolf, without her he'd never have met Caitlin or Doc or become as close as he had with Michael and Marella in the last few years.


	12. Chapter 12

-Mature content ahead-

The next day at the hanger was going well. Hawke had gotten several of the minor repairs accomplished before ten and Caitlin had already made a dent in the accounts for Dom. The only thing distracting him was that he'd awoken this morning with Caitlin in his arms and he had desperately wanted her. Emily had already gotten up but she was just downstairs with Dom and that wasn't exactly conducive to sex with his fiancé. So, he'd taken a cold shower and tried to ignore how little that had actually helped.

On top of it, Caitlin had dressed in an outfit he found to be very pretty on her. The soft looking red sweater had a scoop neckline and though she wasn't a terribly busty woman it had fit her body particularly well. She didn't wear skirts often because she usually had students but today she was only doing office work so she'd worn a simple black skirt but it was made of a material that flowed and swung around her knees when she turned or moved, showing off her pretty bare calves and dainty ankles. She was such a paradox sometimes. Shy yet friendly, soft but strong and a woman who could work as hard as the men. And she was a damn good pilot and mechanic, yet tender and sweet, but could kick your ass in a heartbeat too. She also didn't put up with any of his brooding and moody bullshit or Dom's grumpiness either. If he'd had to imagine the perfect woman for him, Caitlin was it.

Dom had taken Emily on errands as soon as everything started opening at 8 o'clock. They'd be gone until at least one in the afternoon with all the errands he had to put off this week. It ended up taking even longer than they thought it would because he spent a lot of time introducing his granddaughter to anyone who asked. And some that didn't. He was a proud grandpa after all.

Around eleven, Hawke took a coffee break and when he entered the office, Caitlin was at the filing cabinet looking for something. He couldn't resist not touching her any longer. It was just the two of them there after all so Hawke walked over and wrapped his arms around Caitlin's waist causing her to jump and look at him over her shoulder.

"You startled me," she laughed.

"I could tell…" he said softly. "Looking for something?"

"Oh, I can't find one of Dom's receipts, he swears he filed it but it isn't in the folder," Caitlin grumbled.

"What's it for?"

"Fuel from Hightower Fuels but it isn't under the H's, I checked under the I's and G's so far to see if he got it in the wrong folder.

"Try D," Hawke said as he pressed a kiss to Caitlin's neck just below her ear. He smiled when she shivered and then looked under the D folder.

"Why in the heck did he put it there?"

"Deidre is the secretary, he kinda has a thing for her," Hawke explained.

Caitlin started to laugh. "Without you I'd never have figured that one out!"

"Well, you could give me a proper thank you then," Hawke teased.

Caitlin turned in the circle of his arms and looked at him. "Hmm, and what kind of thank you do you have in mind, Mr. Hawke?"

"What I'd really like…well ma'am that might get me slapped," Hawke teased.

"Ohhh, we'll see about that," Caitlin teased in return and grabbed the front of Hawke's coveralls pulling him in for a kiss.

The kiss deepened and grew and soon the two were making out like a couple of teenagers, mouths and hands traveling all over each other's clothed bodies. When they pulled apart for air, Hawke glanced at the clock on the wall and estimated they had at least an hour and a half before Dom came back with Emily. He turned and locked the door to the office and put up the out for lunch sign in the window before pulling the shades.

"Little early for lunch, isn't it?" Caitlin laughed.

"Emily really, really, really needs her own bedroom," he grumbled as he pulled Caitlin close again to kiss her. His hands slid under her sweater to caress the soft skin of her back, sliding around to trace her breast through her bra as Caitlin arched into him.

Caitlin's hands didn't stay idle either and Hawke moaned deep in his throat when one of her hands pressed against him, caressing and stroking his hard length through his coveralls.

"Caitlin, you're playing with fire here," he murmured and she laughed and kissed him again.

"I'm hoping so," she whispered. With those words, Hawke spun her around and pressed her hands to the wall above her head.

"I am so glad you're wearing a skirt today," he told her softly as his hands gathered the material, lifting it and tugging down her panties. His hand slid over her bottom and down until he could reach her hot core. His finger slid over her soft skin once, twice before slipping inside. He smiled when her breath caught and she pushed back against his hand.

It only took a second to unzip the front of his coveralls and she moaned when his finger left her wanting more. His hands steadied her hips as he pulled Caitlin back a bit and then slowly pushed inside her warm body. He closed his eyes as he sunk into her, savoring the feeling of her body surrounding him. It seemed like he wanted her constantly. Laying night after night next to her and unable to do anything about it was taking a toll on him. He knew Emily needed them right now but soon he hoped that he would have Caitlin alone in his bed.

He wrapped his arm around Caitlin's waist and worked his hand under her skirt to rub his finger over and over against her hardened bud as he thrust into her. Their coupling was a little rough and quick, both unsure when someone might come to the hanger or call or if Dom and Emily would be back sooner than planned. It was a risk, broad daylight, mid-morning with just an office door between them and whomever might wander into the hanger. Maybe that was what made it feel so exhilarating though, Caitlin would never admit that to anyone. Not even to Hawke if he ever asked because knowing him, he'd press their luck. But it felt so damn good to be utterly possessed by the man she loved.

Her entire world contracted to where their bodies connected and then suddenly the dam burst and she couldn't stop herself from crying out as her world shattered and he fell over the edge right behind her.

It was over rather quickly, both of them needing this and not able to stop themselves and their need for each other. Caitlin was left on shaky legs as she held onto the wall to keep her upright after it was over. Hawke had pulled her panties up and righted his clothes before she was able to really get upright again.

In moments, Hawke pulled her to him, spinning her into his arms and he kissed her breathlessly. "I love you, Caitlin," he whispered seriously. He was a little worried he'd been too rough but Caitlin was smiling happily at him, if a little dazed.

"Mmm, I love you too," she whispered in return. It took them a bit to catch their breath and break apart but finally they did. Caitlin slipped into the bathroom for a moment to touch up her makeup and Hawke went ahead and poured that cup of coffee. His hands were still shaking a little when he took the sign out of the window, opened the shades and unlocked the door again.

Caitlin came back out with fresh lipstick on and settled back behind the desk.

She blushed when she looked up at Hawke and he gave her a knowing grin over his mug. "Best coffee break I've ever had, oh and by the way, you're welcome," he quipped and laughed when she threw a wad of paper at him but her eyes were sparkling with laughter too. Hawke winked at her before he sauntered back to the rig he was working on earlier.

When Dom and Emily had returned that afternoon they brought lunch. Caitlin took a longer lunch with Emily so they could write that letter to Santa. The child was in such a good mood, she and Hawke hated to ruin it but Esme's funeral would be tomorrow afternoon. They decided they would talk to her about it after dinner that night. It might be a sleepless night for the couple after that but it had to be done.

Dom had decided that tonight he'd just stay home so they could be a family, just the three of them. Caitlin and String had both assured him that he was more than welcome, that he was family and that Emily could use the support but he told them that he thought it was best if it were just them. He'd be there in the morning for support then. He knew it would a tough night on them and he could come up fresh and make them breakfast and help with Emily any way he could.

That evening after they arrived at the cabin, Caitlin made dinner almost begging Hawke to let her cook alone because she needed something to do. He took care of getting the fires going and bringing in firewood, plus taking care of the dogs with Emily. When they came back in, Caitlin was working at the stove and the cabin smelled great. Whatever she was making was going to be delicious if the smell was any indication. He got down in the floor and was playing with Emily. Hawke was laying on his back and picked her up, balancing her on his knees and hands as she pretended to fly just a few feet off the floor.

Caitlin had prepared a shrimp and vegetable stir fry and rice for dinner and had enjoyed having something to do with her hands cutting all the vegetables to take the edge off her nerves. This was harder than telling Emily her grandmother had died she thought.

Emily had been talkative over dinner, telling them about all the people she met with grandpa even those she'd already told them about at the hanger and during the ride home. She particularly liked Meg, she said she might like going to her pre-school sometimes. It made Caitlin a little more worried about later tonight when they told her. She was doing so well and now to just have the reminder…she almost asked Hawke again if they were doing the right thing but it seemed he knew her thoughts because she felt his hand squeeze her knee under the table.

After dinner, Caitlin seemed to be stalling a little in the kitchen so Hawke went in to help her with putting the left overs away and washing up.

"Cait, stalling won't change anything," he whispered to her.

"I know. I'm just dreading it," she answered sadly.

"I know. Me too," he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple. "She'll be okay."

Emily was reading a Dr. Seuss book when the couple joined her in the living room and Hawke patted the couch beside him. "Come on up, kiddo," he invited. The girl crawled up on the couch between the two adults and settled in, snuggled into Caitlin's side.

"Emily, uh…do you know what a funeral is?" Hawke began not knowing if the girl knew the word or not.

Emily thought about it for a moment and remembered that Granny had called it a funeral when they had buried her pet hamster in the backyard last summer. She nodded. "It's when you bury someone and say nice things about them."

Caitlin was surprised the young girl knew that. "Granny and I had a funeral in July when my hamster Bert died," she explained. "She put him in a little box and we dug a hole and we put the box in the hole and covered it. Granny had me put flowers on the dirt and we talked about what a good hamster he'd been and told him goodbye. Granny and I painted a rock with his name on it, it's still in the yard."

"Well, you know that we need to do something like that for granny, have a funeral so all her friends can say goodbye," Caitlin said softly.

"Where?" Emily asked.

"Oh, she'll uh…" Caitlin stumbled and Hawke picked up.

"She'll be buried next to her husband, your grandpa Charlie. That is where she wanted to be, next to him. They are making a pretty stone for her too with her name on it so we can go visit her and take her flowers sometimes if you want," Hawke explained. "I do that with my parents sometimes."

"Oh, that is where my first mommy and daddy are too. I've been there with granny before," she told them and Caitlin felt something in her uncurl. Granny had exposed her to the graveyard and other things like that before so maybe this would be a little easier than she thought it would be.

"Yes, we'll have a service at the church tomorrow afternoon so everyone can say goodbye to her, say nice things and remember how many people loved her and honor the life she had. Then they take her to the graveyard and put her there next to grandpa Charlie and your parents. We will put flowers too," Caitlin explained.

"Okay," Emily said not entirely sure how she felt about it all.

"Emily, sweetheart I want you to know that people may cry tomorrow because they'll miss your granny. It will be okay if you feel like you need to cry too, okay? Don't try not to, just do what you need. Cait and I will be there for you," Hawke said explaining softly, he didn't know if she really understood but she seemed to be handling it well.

"Okay, can I have some hot chocolate before bed tonight?" she asked, changing the subject.

Caitlin frowned a bit at Hawke but he just nodded over Emily's head. "Yes, you stay here with Cait and I'll make it."

He suspected that Emily was thinking more than she was saying and that she was upset but wasn't sure how to express it. He figured what she needed now was snuggling with Caitlin, which by the time he made it to the kitchen to get out the milk he spotted the girl crawling into Cait's lap and resting her head on the redhead's shoulder. He'd expected that. The physical touch of someone there with her was what she needed more than words right now.

Hawke made a pot of rich hot chocolate the way Dom had taught him and cooled Emily's down with two ice cubes to make sure it wasn't too hot for her the way Dom did it for him when he was a kid. He set three mugs on a tray with a small bag of marshmallows so she could add as many as she wanted.

"Here we go, ladies," Hawke said as he set the tray down on the coffee table. Emily sat up and slid off Caitlin's lap to the couch as Hawke gave her cup to her and helped her get some marshmallows. She was quiet as she held her smaller cup compared to theirs and watched her marshmallows melt into the warm liquid. She took a sip and smiled a little. "It's yummy," she said softly and Hawke thanked her.

"Will it be okay if we stay up a little later tonight?" Emily asked suddenly.

"Well, I don't see why not. Why do you want to stay up?"

"I don't want to sleep yet because then it'll be tomorrow when I wake up," Emily admitted.

"Emily, if you don't want to go to the funeral you know you don't have to, right? We won't force you to go," Caitlin said softly.

"I just don't want to say goodbye," Emily admitted with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, bug," Hawke said setting his mug aside and taking hers and setting it on the table too. "Come here," he whispered and pulled her into a hug. "You don't have to. You know that granny will always be with you here," he said touching her head and then touching her chest, "and here. As long as you remember her you'll never really say goodbye."

Caitlin had tears in her eyes too and wrapped her arms around the little girl too, kissing her on her forehead. "Sweetie, you love granny, nothing is going to change that and she loved you and she'll always be watching over you," Caitlin said softly.

"Like an angel?" Emily asked.

"Just like that," Caitlin told the now crying girl.

"Emily, if you don't want to attend the funeral tomorrow you really don't have to, just like Caitlin said, you don't have to go," Hawke told the girl again.

"I don't wanna," she mumbled and Hawke sighed. "That's fine, sweetie, it is totally up to you. You can stay here with Caitlin and grandpa and I'll go and make sure everything is done the way your granny wished for it to, okay?"

"You don't think granny would be dis…ah…um…mad?" Emily asked, having trouble with the word disappointed.

"Not at all, she wouldn't be disappointed or mad at you. She'd understand how you feel," Caitlin assured her.

"Promise?"

"I promise," Caitlin said firmly.

"Me too, bug. I promise she would never, ever be disappointed in you and neither am I or Cait," Hawke told the child and she hugged him tighter.

Emily nodded against him and just held on, relaxing into the warmth of his body and just listening to Hawke's heartbeat. He and Caitlin shared a look and Hawke pulled her close for a little kiss. The three just stayed snuggled on the couch, just holding each other and letting Emily take her time calming down. She didn't cry long but enough that Hawke's shoulder and arm were a bit damp.

It was about a half hour later that Emily looked up at him and sat up a little bit sighing heavily.

"What is it, bug?"

"I'm comfy but I need to pee," she announced and Hawke and Caitlin chuckled a little.

"Come on, you can change into your pj's while we are up there and you'll be even more comfy," Caitlin said as she got up and took Emily's hand. Hawke followed them up, while Caitlin and Emily were in the bathroom he changed into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. He was just putting his clothes in the hamper when Caitlin and Emily emerged. He could tell Emily's face had been washed and so had Caitlin's. She no longer had any makeup on and both were dressed in flannel nightgowns. Cait's was a pretty burgundy plaid that looked particularly good with her skin tone and Emily had on a pink nightgown with unicorns on it. Hawke handed Emily her fuzzy slippers and she put them on before plodding down the stairs. He caught Caitlin's hand as she went to the stairs and stopped her.

"You okay?" Hawke asked and she sighed and shook her head.

"I dunno. I just wish there was something more I could do to help her," Caitlin said sadly.

"You are helping her, Cait. Just being there for her helps. I may have been older than her when I lost my parents but what helped me the most was that Dom and Sinjin were there for me. She'll get through this," Hawke told her. "She's a very strong girl."

"I know. I just can't help wanting to wrap her up in cotton wool and protect her from everything," Caitlin said softly.

"That's because we love her but that is also what is going to get her through this," Hawke said with a soft kiss.

Caitlin offered a tiny smile and they headed downstairs. When they got there, Emily was stretched out on the floor with Sally and Tet. Sally had her head on the girl's lap and Tet was laying as close to her side as he could get. It was like they sensed the girl's sadness too and were offering their comfort in the way that dogs do.

Caitlin gathered up what was left of their hot chocolate and took it all to the kitchen. She just emptied the mugs and ran water in them to soak and returned to the living room. Hawke had moved the coffee table and had some of the throw pillows in the floor where he laid down next to Emily and the dogs. Caitlin smiled a little and asked if Emily wanted a story. The girl nodded and Caitlin picked up _The Polar Express_ they had planned to read the night before but Emily had fallen asleep. So, she decided to start again and settled in the floor with them and began to read.

This time Emily made it to the end of the book and was snuggled against Hawke's chest as she listened. "I'd want to hear the bell when I'm old too," Emily said softly and Hawke smiled down at her. Caitlin smiled as well and got up to put the book away. When she came back, Emily was asleep against Hawke's chest and she sat down in the chair smiling at the pair.

"The story seemed to take her mind off things," Caitlin said softly.

"Yeah, I think it helped," Hawke agreed as his fingers carded through Emily's hair and decided he'd wait just a little longer before carrying her upstairs. Once he was certain that Emily was in a good, deep sleep, he got up and Caitlin helped him gather Emily in his arms to take upstairs. She barely woke, and he tucked her in with her stuffed bunny and then he and Caitlin joined her. They might have gone back downstairs on any other night but they didn't want to leave her alone just in case she had any bad dreams by all the talk of a funeral tonight.


	13. Chapter 13

The couple had been awoken twice in the night, once with a bad dream that they had to calm Emily down from and the second time because she had woken up and asked Caitlin if she was awake. Caitlin was just in a light doze and woke when Emily spoke to her.

"What is it, sweetheart?" she asked wondering if the child had another bad dream.

"When I die will people put me in a box and bury me too?" Emily asked.

Caitlin felt her throat tighten at the very thought of a child her age even thinking something like that. "Oh, honey…you aren't going to die not for a very, very long time but that is…well that is traditional for Christians to be buried because of the belief in resurrection," Caitlin said honestly, not sure if telling the child about cremation would be any better.

Emily considered that and knew what that meant. She remembered the stories about Easter. "But I'm afraid of the dark," Emily said. "I don't think I'd want that."

Hawke was awake listening and felt Caitlin shake a bit, knowing she was holding back a sob. He sat up a little in the bed and looked at the worried child. "There is another option," he whispered.

"Hawke," Caitlin rebuked, rarely using his last name anymore.

"Would I be in the dark?"

"You wouldn't have to be, no. You could be anywhere you want, not in a box or anything. It is a bit different than you had with your hamster or how granny chose. It is preferred by some other religions," Hawke said trying not to tell her everything.

"Oh, so I could do that then," Emily said, not really needing the details just knowing she wasn't going to be in a dark box made her feel better.

"Yes, you get to make out a document that explains to your loved ones how you want things done and who you leave the things you own to after you're gone," Hawke explained.

"Oh, okay. So, each person decides what they want?"

"Yes," Hawke said to end the conversation, even though it wasn't necessarily the truth. Plenty of people didn't say how they wanted things done and their families had to decide.

"Does that help?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah, I feel a little better now," Emily said and snuggled back down into the bed. Caitlin pulled the covers over her a little more and kissed her forehead.

"Try to get some more sleep, Emily," Caitlin said softly.

Hawke put his arm around Cait's waist and pulled her close against him. "You okay?" he asked and Caitlin sniffled a little.

"I will be," she murmured and he just held her tighter and kissed her neck softly.

"Relax. She was just curious and a little scared," Hawke said softly against her ear. She just nodded and closed her eyes but sleep was a long way off.

Hawke too had laid awake most of the night after the conversation with Emily. The child was smart and sometimes that wasn't a good thing. Her question this morning had really shaken Caitlin and had left him grasping himself as he tried to give her another option without giving her the details. Caitlin was right to rebuke him at first, it made him rethink how he was going to answer. How did parents ever do this alone? It certainly gave him much more respect for Dom, even though he loved the man to pieces he realized now just how hard it must have been for him to take in two traumatized pre-teens.

Hawke didn't fall back to sleep again, though he was glad to see both Emily and Caitlin had. When the first slivers of daylight started to peek through the window, Hawke got up and added wood to the fire in the loft and then went downstairs to do the same there. He shrugged on his jacket and let the dogs out earlier than normal and sat on the porch for a few minutes as they ran around and took care of their morning routine. It was freaking cold but it helped clear his head a little.

When he returned inside he made a pot of coffee and settled down on the couch with a book, just trying to take his mind off things for a little while but after he read the same sentence three times he gave up and grabbed his cello. It had been far too long since he'd played the instrument anyway. He played it softly, just a slow and soft melody that helped to relax him a little. It was about an hour later that Caitlin came down the stairs and smiled.

"I thought I heard music," she said softly.

"I needed to clear the cobwebs," Hawke explained and she nodded as she went to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.

"I always love listening to you play," she said as she settled on the couch with her legs tucked under her.

Hawke just smiled a little at her and continued to play. She closed her eyes and just let the soft music flow over her as she felt it relax her. None of them had slept well last night and she knew Hawke would have the roughest time having to actually go to the funeral. When she opened her eyes again she noticed the soft pink and yellow glow of the clouds outside the window and sighed.

She finished her cup of coffee and got up to go check on Emily. When she entered the loft, Emily was still sound asleep. Caitlin got some clothes and slipped into the bathroom to grab a quick shower and dress. Her hair was damp when she returned downstairs and Hawke was still playing.

"She's still out," she said as she settled on the couch again.

Hawke stopped playing and set his cello back in its place. Caitlin's hair was a darker shade of red when it was damp and her face looked pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. She was dressed in faded jeans and one of his flannel shirts. "Is that my shirt?" Hawke asked when he recognized it.

"Yeah, I need to do laundry today or go and get clothes from my apartment. I probably have a million messages on my answering machine from my mom too," Caitlin admitted. "With all that's gone on this week I haven't called her at all. She's probably ready to start calling the hanger."

"And today she'd get the answering machine there too. You should use the satellite phone to call her today, because if it says we are closed for a funeral she's going to have a fit," Hawke suggested.

"Oh, God. You're right. One more thing not to look forward to," Caitlin complained.

"Yeah and just think how much you need to fill her in on. Oh, mom I was recovering from pneumonia but I'm fine now. Oh, and Hawke and I got together and we're engaged. We're getting married next month and oh, we're adopting a four-year-old little girl whose grandmother just died and named Hawke her guardian. Oh, and I'm living at the cabin with him now. And the man who murdered the girl's grandmother, Hawke helped them track down and he's now in jail. So how are your holidays going?" Hawke said with a grin.

"And hey, can you give me grandma Nan's recipe for snickerdoodles so I can make them for my new daughter?" Caitlin said with a laugh.

Hawke laughed and picked up his coffee mug.

"Somehow, I doubt it'll go quite that smoothly unless you keep her from talking at all, just say all that and hang up," Hawke teased as he took Caitlin's cup to refill with his.

"Oh, to dream that I'd get the answering machine instead of her," Caitlin laughed. She loved her mom but after this week of not calling and having all of this news to lay on her mother she knew it might not be a pleasant call. Her mother wasn't mean she just worried, a lot.

She accepted the mug from Hawke when he came back in the room and he leaned down and kissed her. "Want me to help talk to her?"

"You really do love me, don't you?" Caitlin teased and Hawke laughed a bit and shrugged.

"Mommy? Daddy?" they heard from upstairs and both Hawke and Caitlin looked up at the loft. She didn't sound upset thankfully.

"Just downstairs, sweetie," Caitlin called and was halfway up the stairs when Emily appeared at the top of them.

"I'm thirsty," Emily complained and Caitlin smiled at her. She was probably a little dehydrated from crying last night.

"Come on, I'll get you a glass of water. Grandpa is coming to make breakfast this morning," she told the girl as she led her to the kitchen.

Emily was still obviously sleepy and she helped her get on a bar stool to sit at the counter to drink her water. "I don't think you got enough sleep," Caitlin told her and the girl just shook her head.

"You can go back to bed if you want after you finish your water, we'll wake you when grandpa gets here," Caitlin told her.

"No, I'm good," Emily said with another shake of her head. "Can we bake cookies today?"

Caitlin smiled. "If you want, what kind do you want to make? We are out of chocolate chips but we have everything for sugar cookies."

"Sugar cookies are good; can Tet and Sally have some of those?" Emily said a little more enthusiastically but they could tell she was still sleepy. Last time she was disappointed that dogs couldn't eat chocolate.

Hawke laughed, remembering just how disappointed she was when she couldn't share her cookies with Tet and Sally last time. "Yes, they can have sugar cookies," Hawke told her and was rewarded with a more cheerful smile from the child.

It was just a second later that Hawke tilted his head as he usually did when he heard a helicopter coming and Caitlin smiled. "Grandpa's here!" she told Emily who perked up a little more at that. Hawke helped her down off the bar stool and she went to the door to wait for him.

He was glad to see her more excited now. He was worried about Emily after last night but he knew Caitlin was even more worried. Hawke went over and wrapped his arms around Caitlin. "You know, she's going to be okay. It'll just take some time," he whispered to her.

"I know, I just hate seeing her in pain," Caitlin admitted.

"I know. Me too, but I have a feeling Dom will help cheer her up. You know how he is," Hawke said with a half-smile.

Caitlin wrapped her arms around Hawke in return and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I love you," she murmured softly.

"What brought that on?" Hawke asked, squeezing her a little tighter to him.

"Just the truth, you always know how to make me feel better," she whispered.

Emily squealed then when Dom came in and hugged him. He had a bag of groceries in one arm but wrapped the other around the little girl.

"Hello, princess!" he said happily. His grin seemed to widen just a bit more when he spotted Hawke with his arms around Caitlin in the kitchen. "Morning!" he called and the couple greeted him back. That was a sight he was still getting used to but he loved it. He'd wanted those two to get together since before Caitlin's plane had gone down. He knew Hawke was in love with the girl even then but the man wouldn't admit it.

"What'd ya bring for breakfast, grandpa?" Emily asked, curious what he was going to make. Grandpa Dom made the best breakfasts she thought.

"We are going to have French toast," he told the girl and laughed when she announced how much she loved French toast. "I thought you might!"

Dom set the bag of groceries on the counter and looked at Hawke and Caitlin for a moment. They didn't need to tell him it had been a rough night, the dark circles under Caitlin's eyes told him everything he needed to know.

"Well, it's time you cleared out of here, shoo, let me work my magic. Emily, you wanna help?" Dom asked and the little girl trotted over ready to do any job he gave her.

"Looks like Dom has everything handled," Hawke said as he took Caitlin's hand to lead her back to the living room. He paused beside his father figure and whispered, 'thank you' as they went by him. Dom just nodded and started telling a story to Emily.

After breakfast was over, Dom took Emily for a walk with the dogs while Hawke and Caitlin prepared to call Caitlin's mother in Texas. It was the most nerve wracking thing Caitlin had done in a while, scarier than any Airwolf mission in some ways. She just hated arguing with her mother.

Hawke had put the satellite phone on speaker and hoped he'd be able to just keep his peace and not interfere but he also wanted to hear the full conversation. The phone rang three times before Caitlin's mother answered.

"Hi, mom, it's Caitlin."

"Caity!? Girl, where have you been? I've been trying to call you for a week!"

"I'm sorry, mom, it's been a hectic week and I haven't been back to my apartment since Friday," Caitlin explained with a slight wince.

"What? What's going on, baby?"

"Well you know I was sick last week, so Dom, uh, that is Mr. Santini brought me up to Hawke's cabin so I could get some rest. The mountain air up here helped a lot, my cough finally cleared up."

"Oh, well that's…that's good to hear, hon but…you've been at this fella's cabin since last Friday?" Maggie still wasn't too sure about this Stringfellow Hawke that had stolen her little girl's heart. He didn't seem interested in more than friendship with her daughter so why would he want her there a whole week?

"Yes. We, um, mom, we well…Hawke asked me to marry him and I said yes."

"Hang on you did you just tell me a man we've never met before asked you to marry him and you said yes?"

"It's not as if you've never talked to him before, mom. You've talked to Hawke on the phone plenty of times."

"Not as your boyfriend or fiancé, you always said he was just a friend or at least he only thought of you as a friend."

"Things changed."

"I'll say…okay. I'm not thrilled you been up there in his cabin like that but you're a grown woman. But…well, this is what you wanted though. You've been in love with that boy for years so…I'm happy for you honey. Really, I am I just wish we knew more about him. I know you are grown and almost 30 now but you're still my little girl and he's been hurtin' you for a long time now."

Her last words made Hawke feel like a royal jerk. He hadn't really considered just how much he hurt Caitlin over the years as he would wax and wane between wanting to be with her and pushing her away for her own safety.

"I know, mom but thank you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away everything that has been going on but like I said it has been hectic here."

"Well, I'll just say it's about damn time that man of yours got his head out of his ass and noticed you."

Hawke had to put his hand over his mouth. She certainly didn't mince words.

"Mom," Caitlin chided and sighed. "Anyway, the reason it's been so hectic is because there has been some trouble up here."

Caitlin explained the situation with the murderer and Emily.

"Oh, my Lord in Heaven, that poor child," Maggie O'Shannessy said softly.

"I know and she's the sweetest little girl, mom. Just adorable and smart too. Anyway, her granny knew Hawke since he was a kid and she doesn't have any other relatives so she named him guardian in her will so…so when we get married you see, I'll be her mom, she's already started calling me mommy in fact," Caitlin explained.

"My word, are you ready for that Caity?"

"I am, I love taking care of her already. I've known her for a while now, through String. I'd met her a number of times over the last few years and already thought the world of her. Mom, you'll love her," Caitlin told her mother.

"Oh, of course I will. This is just a lot to tell your old, mom. When do you plan to get married then?"

This was the part that Caitlin wasn't looking forward to.

"Um, well, next month."

The line was silent for a moment before her mother practically screamed, "WHAT?" into the phone.

Hawke winced and looked at Caitlin who swallowed hard.

"Mom, we don't want to wait, we've know each other for two years and Emily needs a stable family and we love each other more than anythin', so we don't need to wait a long time."

"How the hell am I supposed to plan a wedding for you in a month, Caitlin!? And in the middle of winter of all times? What are you thinkin'? Don't you even want your family to be there and be a part of your wedding or do you plan to just cut us out of it?"

"No, of course I don't plan to cut you out of it. But I don't want you to plan anything. String and I and our friends are going to plan the wedding. I don't want anything big and neither does he, we just want close friends and family. Not a big church thing, mom. We just want it to be the people we love and we plan to get married outside up at Crystal Lake. It's beautiful there."

"In the middle of winter? Are you out of your mind?"

"No. We want to marry in the snow it…is unusual I know but it has a special meaning for us and for Emily. Don't worry it'll be beautiful and it'll be perfect for us. It's what we want, mom. Please, please don't be upset. We just want you to come to the wedding, no planning for you, no arguing between us over details okay? Just, be there for me," Caitlin practically begged.

Maggie made an annoyed sound of frustration and sighed heavily. "Caity, girl you are gona be the death of me yet," she complained. "Are you sure about this? Absolutely sure?"

"Yes. I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

"I am not happy about this but I don't guess there is much I can do about it, you've got that I've made up my mind and you're not gona change it sound in your voice."

Caitlin laughed. "I'm not, this is what I want."

"All right. We *are* going to talk more about this. I want to at least know what your plans are for the wedding, will you at least let me know those?"

"Yeah, yeah, mom I promise."

"Is he there?"

"Yes."

"I want to talk to him."

"Mom…"

"Don't you 'mom' me girl I want to talk to this young man."

"All right. Here he is."

"Mrs. O'Shannessy?" Hawke said then.

"So, you're ready to settle down, Mr. Hawke?" Maggie asked and he laughed.

"Yes, ma'am, I am."

"Is all this just because of that little girl or are you really in love with my daughter?" Maggie had to know.

Hawke frowned and glared at the phone and he held up his hand when Caitlin went to say something. "This has nothing to do with Emily, I had already intended to talk to Caitlin about my feelings for her when Dom brought her up to the cabin this last weekend. I didn't get to do things the way I planned because this whole thing with Emily and her grandmother sort of caused a snowball effect. But I'd already decided to stop running from my feelings for Cait. I've loved her since I met her in Texas if I was being honest with myself and we could have been together years ago but…but I have suffered a lot of loss in my life of people I love. I thought for many years now that I had a curse and I was trying to protect Caitlin from that curse by not getting too close to her."

"That is the only reason I tolerated all this ya' know. Caity told me some of this and the fact you were trying to protect her was the only reason I didn't absolutely hate you. I'm glad you finally noticed what a wonderful prize you had sittin' right under your nose and realized you didn't have a stupid curse. Now I'm warning you, you treat her right or you'll be dealin' with me and her daddy."

Hawke didn't dare laugh though he wanted to. "Yes, ma'am. I plan to treat Caitlin like a queen and our adopted daughter Emily like a princess. The two of them are all I am focused on, taking care of them and protecting them and finally enjoying the life I have always wanted. This is it for me, Mrs. O'Shannessy, I'm 36 years old and I intend for this to be my first and only marriage."

Caitlin smiled at him and he took her hand in his.

Maggie smiled to herself and thought they weren't too young for this, that much was certain. She also couldn't balk at the age difference, she and her husband Joseph had a 12-year age difference themselves. A part of her was heartbroken that Caitlin didn't want her to be more involved in her wedding plans but she knew that Caitlin just wasn't a normal girl either. She preferred horses to dolls and helicopters to cheerleading and karate to ballet. She just wasn't ever a girly girl, she could keep up with her brothers and best them most of the time. She was her tomboy that grew up to be a beautiful and headstrong young woman that she was proud of even though she gave her a hard time and she was even getting an adopted granddaughter in the deal.

"You send me pictures of that child, you hear me? I want to see her picture in my Christmas card."

Hawke laughed. "We will, in fact a friend of ours took a picture of us in front of the Christmas tree the other night, I'll be sure we get copies for you."

"You better, young man! May I talk to Caity again?"

"I'm here, mom."

"Now what does that baby want for Christmas?"

Hawke found himself smiling at that question and Caitlin laughed. "Well, she loves the Strawberry Shortcake dolls, she has a few of them. I'll send you a list of the ones she doesn't have."

"You do that when you send that picture then! Oh, and Caity, sweetheart, congratulations."

"Thank you, mom. I love you."

"Love you too. Call me again and soon."

With that they said their goodbyes and Hawke closed the satellite phone.

"That went better than you imagined, didn't it?" Hawke said and Caitlin let out a breath.

"Yes, I was really nervous that she'd fly off the handle but she really took it well. I think Emily's situation sort of defused most of any anger she might have had."

"She already knew how you felt about me?"

Caitlin blushed and nodded. "Yeah, she guessed it a long time ago."

"I think Emily's story also helped too, she obviously is looking forward to being a grandmother to her," Hawke said with a smile.

"Yeah, she and daddy are going to spoil her rotten, ya know?"

"Like Dom doesn't? That's what grandparents do, right?" Hawke answered and settled his hands on Caitlin's hips, pulling her to stand between his legs as he sat in a bar stool.

"You're right, he sure does seem to gloat on Emily, doesn't he?" Caitlin said remembering the older man telling everyone he knew yesterday about his new granddaughter.

"He loves kids, he always has and the fact it's a little girl that he can dote on? That man's in heaven, Cait," Hawke admitted.

He took the opportunity while Dom and Emily were out to kiss Caitlin breathless and wished they had the chance to do more but would settle for kisses and loving touches for now.


	14. Chapter 14

When Hawke left for the funeral, Caitlin, Emily and Dom spent the afternoon making cookies. They worked to make sure that Emily was distracted from thinking about where Hawke was.

Meanwhile at the funeral, Hawke couldn't keep his mind off getting home and back to his girls. He told those who asked that Emily wasn't ready to say goodbye to her grandmother yet and most understood. He spoke with Esme's business partner Sarah for a few minutes about the bakery, assured her that he nor Emily were concerned about her taking it over. She asked after Emily and Hawke let her know what had been going on and that Esme had left him as the child's legal guardian.

After what he thought was an appropriate amount of time, he left and returned home to the cabin.

When he landed he found himself smiling when halfway up the dock he was greeted by Caitlin and Emily in the doorway wearing matching aprons that Dom had brought them. Wasn't this just an amazing way to come home? Finding a beautiful woman and a beautiful child waiting for him at home? It was a dream he hadn't even realized he'd wanted until recently.

Hawke kissed Caitlin and hugged Emily as they went back into the cabin. Dom was just taking a batch of cookies out and Emily ran to help him.

"You're in time for some cookies fresh from the oven!" Dom told him and Hawke felt his heart lighten. He'd said his goodbye to Granny Williams today on behalf of them all, especially Emily and he'd thanked her for trusting in him to care for the precious girl. He hoped that he would do Esme proud.

The next week passed in the normal holiday hubbub around the hanger. Last minute holiday charters and a couple of people coming in to arrange flying lessons as gifts for youngsters for after New Year.

Cait had even made cute little certificates so that the parents giving the lessons could put them in a card or something for their kids. It seemed to make it even more special and they had more lessons than normal scheduled for after New Year because of it. Dom was extremely happy about that since this was a slow time of year for the movie studios. They were down for the holidays themselves, stars, writers, directors and so on taking holiday vacations and breaks so the lessons helped keep the lights on.

Emily came with them every day to the hanger and she would help a little bit in between playing and Caitlin would read to her or practice flash cards or learning games with her too.

Hawke had even turned picking up nuts and bolts that were scattered here or there into a learning game that the child seemed to love. She'd run around looking for certain types of nuts or bolts and count and arrange them in empty jars. It helped clean up and she was learning at the same time.

She still had the occasional nightmare and still missed her grandmother terribly and would get quiet and reserved sometimes but Emily was doing well over all with all she'd been through the last few weeks.

Emily was running around in the hanger chasing a washer that had fallen off the work bench that Hawke was working at. The thing just kept rolling and Hawke was laughing as she chased it in a wild pattern across the hanger floor. When she finally caught it, she came running back, waving it in the air at him. He was just taking it from her when he saw a white limousine pull up. His joyous mood sank a bit. He never knew if Michael had good news, bad news or a mission or all of the above.

"Afternoon, Michael," Hawke called to him and Dom and Caitlin came out of the office to see what was up.

"Afternoon, I was in the neighborhood and thought I would bring some good news," Michael said with a smile. He looked over at Emily and Caitlin realized he couldn't say much in front of the child so she took her hand and asked her to come in the office to play a game. She figured Hawke or Dom would fill her in later.

"Good news? That's a change," Dom commented and Hawke grinned.

Michael scowled at them and sighed. "Yes, good news. Airwolf is no longer considered 'stolen' property. Because of the things you've done in the last few years, the things you've prevented and successful missions the committee no longer holds sway over the project. Your report on the Spaceguard incident a few weeks ago also made a huge difference with the National Security Council and the President. So, Airwolf has been transferred fully under my jurisdiction as a 'special project' for the defense department answerable to only the senate defense and intelligence committees and the President. The FIRM no longer has jurisdiction and I will be heading the new department with a handpicked team. This will be the last time you see me in white, gentlemen," Michael said with a smile.

"Well, what da know, something finally going our way!" Dom said with a huge smile.

"So other than a new wardrobe for you and my not being a felon, what happens now?" Hawke asked.

"You'll have your pick of missions, Hawke and as requested, air support, research, recon and search and rescue only. No more ground ops for you," Michael explained almost happily knowing that this was what Hawke had hoped for.

Dom laughed. "That is great news! I'm too old to be running around all over the place anyway!"

Hawke smiled at his friend and nodded. "Thank you, Michael."

"While I had to do a lot of negotiating, some of it came from your new friends at the FBI. They did a full profile on you for the President as well. He was very happy with that profile and agreed that Airwolf was safest under your command and in your custody."

"Gideon and Rossi just can't help themselves, can they? They have to analyze everyone they meet," Hawke scoffed.

"They were asked, specifically asked to give their opinions after working with you. They gave their honest opinions. You impressed them, they like you and were glad to offer a truthful profile on you. It was interesting reading it at how accurate they were just from the short interaction you had with them. Loyalty, determination, amazing piloting skills, protective tendencies just to name a few of the very good qualities they listed. I ah, I'll let you guess the bad stuff but the good outweighs it," Michael couldn't help but tease the man a little.

Dom started to laugh at that but was sure glad they hadn't done a profile on him. Seemed a bit weird to him. Hawke just gave Michael one of his patented glares and let it go.

"So, what now?" Hawke asked.

"Now, I have quite an extensive budget to work with, you'll all be getting paid for the work you do now. We'll have computer folks one of which will be Karen Hanson, that can keep on top of upgrading Airwolf and you'll have access to training facilities if needed, mechanics, technicians and so on. It'll be similar to what the set up was at Red Star when we first started the Airwolf project but this time it will be under my sole purview and you'll be in charge of Airwolf. In fact, I want you to keep her hidden wherever it is you have her at. She's safest there, we'll only bring her in for the work to be done. The more people involved, even if heavily vetted which they will be, I still can't trust 100% like I can you, Dom and Caitlin."

Hawke was starting to get worried until Michael finished talking and then he relaxed.

"I get full control over any and all modifications or upgrades?" Hawke asked curiously.

"You do have a master's in applied physics, I know there were things you wanted to have input on as both pilot and as an engineer but Moffet would never listen to you. I know Dom probably has ideas too after working as flight engineer the last few years, Cait too. The team will report to you and to me of course for funding and administrative but you'll have final say on anything that touches Airwolf herself," Michael explained.

"What about the search for Sinjin?" Hawke asked at last.

"That doesn't change. In fact, it might go smoother and faster now because I'll be able to access not just FIRM information but DOD, NSA, CIA, FBI and DIA. Our little division falls under the highly classified National Reconnaissance Office," Michael explained.

"I've never even heard of it," Dom said and Hawke started laughing.

"What part of highly classified didn't you get from that?" Hawke asked him and Michael sighed.

"It's been around since the 60's but is not a 'public' agency like the CIA or DOD for example. It has a unique mandate when we need eyes and ears in critical places where humans cannot reach, typically their role is satellites but Airwolf falls into that category as well. Her ability to travel around the world in less than a week is also a plus on top of that her surveillance scanning and her ability to hit the stratosphere and hover there is another thing that makes Airwolf fall perfectly under the NRO mandate. Plus, that means much less dangerous missions. I'm not going to say you'll never have combat again of course but this way you'll be much safer as requested," Michael explained.

Hawke liked that idea, he was getting married and had a child to think about, Michael came through for him on this.

"Thank you, Michael," Hawke said honestly and shook his hand. "I didn't expect all of that but thank you for everything. Emily needs her family to stick around this time."

Michael nodded. "That she does. Marella, Karen and myself will be working over the next few months to get the new facility ready. It is going to make your life much easier too, we are going to set it up here at the airport, that way we are closer by making it simpler for everyone plus such an obvious place in the long run makes it even better."

"Hide in plain sight, makes sense. Not being 2 hours away also makes it better for all of us logistically," Hawke said nodding.

"I also plan to have a small medical staff and clinic, there are still those who want Airwolf and will stop at nothing to get her. I want all of you protected, even if it is just a general checkup, I want to know the medical will be handled by our medical team. They'll likely be Navy and Army docs and nurses in the facility that work for the NRO. Anyone who works in this facility will be treated even for the common cold at this facility. No outsiders, less risk," Michael said firmly. He was tired of having his people at risk all the time.

"I'd say you sound paranoid but I know better," Dom said with a laugh. "I know it takes a load off our minds though."

"Well, I just wanted to deliver the news in person and let you know again that the search for Sinjin will continue, Hawke. I know how much that means to you, how much HE means to you. I'm not going to give up either," Michael said as he left.

"I hate to say it but I'm actually starting to like Michael," Dom sighed. "So, what color is he wearing now you think?"

"Probably black, recon ops, I'd think black," Hawke smirked and headed to the office to talk to Caitlin. He poured a cup of coffee and asked Emily to go see grandpa for a few minutes. She happily skipped off and Hawke closed the door.

"So, what did Michael have to say?" Caitlin asked.

Hawke spent the next several minutes relaying to her everything Michael had told them and she was absolutely thrilled.

"Talk about a win, win situation!" she said laughing as she got up from the desk and stopped in front of Hawke. "Less dangerous missions are fine by me. Everything centrally located and you get to have full control of Airwolf's upgrades…I can't imagine anything better."

Hawke set his coffee cup on the desk and slid his arms around her slim waist. "I dunno, I can imagine all kinds of better things," Hawke teased and found himself grinning at the blush that stole across Caitlin's cheeks. "Like this," Hawke said softly as he brushed his lips across hers gently. "Or maybe this," his voice trailed off as he kissed her neck, sucking lightly and tenderly nipping with his teeth, enjoying the gasp and tiny moan Caitlin made.

Caitlin could hardly think when he did things like that, and found herself a little breathless and wishing they had a little more time to be alone. Hawke tipped her face up to his and kissed her deeply then, letting her know that he wasn't just teasing, that he truly loved and wanted her. His hands had stolen inside her sweater where they moved over her soft skin and he had pushed Caitlin against the desk, holding her tight against his own body. They were so wrapped up in one another that neither noticed when Dom slung open the door until he started stammering.

"Uh, oh, um…didn't mean to interrupt but it's about time to close up," he blurted trying not to look as embarrassed as he felt. He really hadn't meant to interrupt them, that looked like one hell of a kiss. Plus, he knew with Emily around the two probably had very little time to celebrate their engagement. Not that he wanted to think of that either. "Er, String you might want to wipe the lipstick off before we head out." He closed the door just as he heard Caitlin start to giggle. Lord help him, at least he'd only walked in on a kiss but it was a wonder the office window wasn't steamed up from it.

As he and Emily picked up a few rags and cleaned up a bit before closing things down, Dom wondered if he should offer to let them have a night to themselves? If nothing else he could offer to take her for an evening so they can go out to have a nice dinner to celebrate their engagement, they hadn't even gotten to do that.

"Emily, what do you say to coming home with me tomorrow evening and giving your mommy and daddy a chance to go on a date," Dom said to the little girl. She gave him a funny look.

"What's a date?" she asked wrinkling her nose. She wasn't quite sure what a date was.

"Oh, it's when two people who like each other or love each other spend time just the two of them. They go to eat a nice dinner at a restaurant, maybe go to a movie or a concert or something together. They might go dancing too," Dom explained.

"Ohh, okay. Granny used to call it courting," Emily said nodding in understanding as she placed the rags she'd helped pick up in the bag that Dom held out.

"Yeah, that is an old-fashioned word for it but yep, it's the same thing," Dom said with a smile.

"Okay, can we have hot cocoa with marshies?" she asked with a bright smile and Dom laughed.

"Yep, and I think I saw that Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is on TV tomorrow night," Dom said remembering he'd heard the advertisement for it during the morning news.

The child's grin grew even wider at that, she loved the cabin but they didn't have a TV. "Can I stay the night or will mommy and daddy pick me up to take me home?"

"Well, it's up to your parents but I don't mind if you stay, in fact you can stay in your daddy's old bedroom," Dom explained.

Before he could say anything else he noticed that Hawke came out of the office in his street clothes and Caitlin was turning out the lights. "All locked up here," Caitlin said, checking the knob one more time to make sure the lock caught.

"Mommy, daddy, can I stay at grandpa Dom's tomorrow night?" Emily asked running up to the couple.

"Are you sure?" Caitlin asked, a little worried since Emily was still having the occasional nightmare.

"Please, we're gona watch Rudolph and have hot cocoa!" Emily said bouncing.

Hawke laughed. "All right, if you want to, we can pack you an overnight bag tonight. What brought all this on anyway?"

"Grandpa said you and mommy could go on a date!" Emily said happily.

Caitlin started to laugh and Hawke rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I guess we probably should, we haven't really had the chance to do that yet," Hawke grinned at Caitlin.

"I'd really like that," she answered with a happy smile.

"Yay! Grandpa and me are going to have fun, I hope you do too!" Emily said hugging Hawke and he picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sure all of us will have fun," Hawke agreed.

Caitlin walked over to Dom and gave him a kiss in the cheek and then wiped off the lipstick stain she left, she'd just reapplied it. "Thanks, Dom," she whispered.

"I know you kids haven't had a chance to be alone much, figured it was the least I could do and it might keep my office from going up in smoke," Dom teased and she smacked him on the arm.

Hawke and Emily were busily still locking things up so Caitlin took the moment to tell Dom about her worries. "You know she's still having some nightmares so don't be surprised if she wakes you a time or two," Caitlin warned.

"Oh, I figured that. I know she's been through a lot and remember I had two boys who had some nightmares themselves once," Dom said sadly.

Caitlin blinked a few times trying to keep tears from her eyes at that. She knew that String and his brother had lost their parents young too. "You, Dominic Santini are a very good man," she whispered and kissed his cheek again.

Dom just smiled at her and gave her a hug before they set out to meet Hawke and Emily at the door. "Everything locked up?"

"Got it," Hawke said as he flipped the locks on the final door, then set Emily down so he could lock the deadbolt.

Dom gave Emily a big hug and kiss and headed to his Jeep while the little family headed to the Jet Ranger to go to the cabin for the night. The older man looked forward to spending the evening with his new granddaughter. He was already thinking of what sort of meal to fix the little girl for dinner along with any other treats besides the cocoa she asked for.

Emily chattered in the helicopter on the way back to the cabin about how excited she was to watch Rudolph with Grandpa Dom. When they arrived at the cabin the child was still animatedly talking about her evening with Grandpa. Caitlin heated up some leftover vegetable soup from the night before and made some quick drop biscuits to go with it, Emily helping her with the sticky dough and having a blast.

Meanwhile, Hawke got the fires going again and took care of the dogs' needs. Giving both Sally and Tet belly rubs while he waited on the kindling to catch and start adding logs to the fire. Once he was done downstairs he went up to the loft to get the fire going there and then popped into the bathroom to wash his hands.

Emily was at the sink in the kitchen on a stool washing her hands with Caitlin and he grabbed a rare beer out of the fridge and took a swig while he watched the ladies in his life. He loved them both so much it made his chest tight sometimes.

After dinner, Caitlin settled on the couch next to Hawke, his arm around her as Emily played in the floor with her dolls. The dogs were both dozing by the hearth and Caitlin leaned over to whisper to him. "I think we might have to break down and get a TV and a VCR after all her chattering about wanting to watch Rudolph," she whispered softly.

"Hmm, yeah. Never thought I'd get one," Hawke said with a shrug. "As long as she doesn't watch it too much."

"Agreed. So, Stringfellow Hawke, future husband of mine, where are we going on our date tomorrow?"

Hawke smiled and shook his head. "I want to surprise you," he told her and she smiled in return.

"Hmm, a surprise, well how will I know what to wear?"

"Cocktail dress for a romantic restaurant, does that work?" Hawke said with a smug grin.

"Oh really? I think I have just the right dress, brand new and I've hoped to one day wear it for you," Caitlin admitted.

"Really?"

"I was hoping it would get me noticed," she admitted with a shy smile.

"I noticed you in coveralls, Cait, noticed you in a police uniform, noticed you in jeans and a baseball cap," he said softly. "You're sexy to me no matter what you wear."

She laughed a little even if her face was a little red from his words. "Even my pink bathrobe, huh?"

"Even your pink bathrobe," he agreed and gave her a loving kiss.

Emily looked up at them from her spot on the floor and wondered if other kids' parents kissed so much? Her friend Macy's parents argued all the time though so she figured kissing has to be better than arguing.


	15. Chapter 15

The next day at the hanger went rather well, String had to do a short run up the coast for a charter client. Dom had another one that had to go up to Big Bear but it only took a few hours so by the time they had gotten back, Caitlin had finished up working on the accounts and had everything finally caught up for now at least.

Caitlin still had her old apartment until the first of the year because of her lease so she planned to go there to get dressed for the evening. They were going to do it like a real date, String was going to pick her up there for the trip to the restaurant. He'd brought a suit that he changed into in the locker room after a quick shower and shave.

Hawke gave Emily a goodbye hug and kiss and gave Dom the phone number to the restaurant just in case there was an emergency. He took his blue Jeep over to Caitlin's but he decided to drive her car instead of his Jeep to the restaurant. It would be easier for her to get out of in a dress at least.

When he got to the door and knocked he wasn't expecting the vision that opened the door for him. He felt his mouth go dry when he looked at Caitlin. She had on a gorgeous red dress that hugged her slim body in such a way that he almost felt jealous of the fabric. He just stared at her for a moment as his eyes traced over her shoulders, down the straps of the dress to the rounded neckline just brushing over the tops of her breasts. The bodice was snug against her small waist and flowed down over her hips and down her legs to just above her knees. She had on a pair of matching red heels and he couldn't help but imagine her long legs wrapped around him and those heels pressed against him, urging him to move with her.

"String?" she asked as he simply stared at her. "Uhm, Hawke?"

Hearing her say his last name, which she hadn't actually called him much lately snapped him out of it.

"My, God you look gorgeous," he blurted, not even a little bit suave.

"I wish I'd worn this a long time ago then," Caitlin said blushing at the hungry and almost flustered expression on Hawke's face. "Let me grab my wrap and my handbag," she said and stepped back into the apartment to pick up a red silk wrap and small clutch that matched her dress. When she turned he noticed that the back of the dress was open almost to the dip of her back, making him want to simply kiss his way up the bare skin on display. She had tiny diamond earrings winking at her lobes and a dainty gold chain with a single diamond floating on the end, just above her breasts. He helped her wrap the silk fabric around her shoulders and leaned down to kiss her bare shoulder between her neck and the strap of the dress.

"You are so beautiful, Caitlin," he whispered, meaning every word. She looked elegant and so beautiful that he was half afraid to take her out in public fearing someone might try to steal her away.

"You look pretty good yourself," she answered turning to straighten his tie a little. Hawke didn't often dress in black, generally he wore earth tones or red or blue but it was very rare to see him in black. She'd only seen him in a tuxedo a couple of times but tonight he was dressed in a sharp black suit with a crisp white shirt and a deep blue tie.

She locked up her apartment and he escorted her to her car, opening the door for her and helping her get in before crossing to the driver's side himself. Part of him wanted to just drive her back to the hanger, rush to the cabin and make love to Caitlin all night, but Hawke had promised her a romantic dinner.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Caitlin was taken by how beautiful it was. It certainly qualified as romantic. Hawke turned the keys over to the parking attendant and then Caitlin took his arm and he escorted her up the stairs to the restaurant. His eyes followed the progress of her shapely legs all the way up the stairs and he gave his name at the door. They confirmed the reservation and led them to their table.

The meal was perfect and the company more so. They talked and laughed and held each other's hand across the table. It was the perfect celebration for their engagement for just the two of them. They even talked a bit about wedding plans before Hawke asked her to dance.

They held one another close as they danced, the entire world seemed to just fall away except for the two of them. Hawke brushed a kiss against Caitlin's neck and whispered, "I love you, Caitlin," against her ear.

She shivered in his arms and nodded as she answered close to his ear as well. "I love you too, String."

When the song ended, Hawke smiled at her. "At the risk of being too bold on a first date, will you come home with me?"

Caitlin started to laugh and said, "I'm not usually that kind of girl but…sure, you only live once."

Her answer made him laugh too and they made their way back to the waiting parking attendant to pick up her car. The problem was when they got in the car, Hawke didn't really want to wait the hour it would take to get back to the cabin. He drove Caitlin back to her apartment and when he got out to run around to her door he pulled her close as she stepped out. "Let's stay here tonight," he whispered against her neck.

Caitlin found herself giggling and pulled back long enough to fish her keys out of her handbag. "You can't wait?"

"Nope," Hawke said honestly as he crowded her in the door and kicked it shut behind him. Caitlin dropped her handbag, uncaring where it landed as his lips attacked the back of her neck, tugging the silky wrap off her arms and draping it on the floor. Hawke's lips burned a trail down the open back of her dress and his fingers slowly worked the zipper down.

"This is a really, really good dress," Hawke murmured as his hands slipped between the satiny dress and Caitlin's soft skin. Callused fingers left trails of heat everywhere they touched and Caitlin found herself lightheaded from how quickly she was breathing.

"Oh, String…"

Hawke pushed the dress down her arms and immediately his hands rose to cup her breasts, his thumbs flicking over her nipples as Caitlin arched her back pushing her breasts more fully into his hands.

He pushed her dress the rest of the way from her hips and hooked her panties, drawing those down until they slipped to her feet. She started to toe off her heels but he stopped her. "Leave 'em," he whispered, then he turned her and picked her up naked except for the red high heels and carried Caitlin to her bedroom.

Her hands worked at his tie as he carried her and it was dropped halfway through the living room. "You are way overdressed," she commented as she kissed his neck and nibbled along his jaw and her nimble fingers slipped buttons from their holes as they went.

Hawke laid Caitlin gently on her bed as he tugged off his jacket and shirt. She was absolutely stunning in the dim light coming in from the open bedroom door and the moonlight shining in through the window. Her skin was flushed and she was breathing hard as she looked up at him from under heavy eyelashes. All she wore were the tiny diamond earrings, the little diamond necklace, his engagement ring and those sexy red heels and he drank in the sight of her. "You are so gorgeous, Caitlin," he murmured as he removed the rest of his clothes and joined her on the bed.

They made love with almost a frantic need and then held one another for a long time, kissing and simply enjoying being able to be together alone for a night. They dozed a bit but sometime after midnight they reached for each other again and made love slowly, mapping one another's bodies all over again.

In the early morning light, Hawke awoke before Caitlin and lay watching her sleep, his hand lazily stroking down her side to her hip. Part of him feared the last few weeks had been a dream. A part of him had set the curse aside while another part was terrified it would reappear, but this time he was going to do everything he could to enjoy what time he had. Every moment, he wanted to live to the fullest with this beautiful woman and their new daughter.

Caitlin stretched lazily as she started to wake, feeling warm calloused fingertips drifting over her skin lightly. "Mmm, feels good," she murmured and Hawke smiled. He rolled her onto her back and began kissing her stomach.

"Feel even better?" He whispered against her skin.

She giggled a little and threaded her fingers through his hair. "Much."

They didn't get out of bed until well past sunrise and showered together. The water was running cold by the time they got out laughing with one another. "I'm not sure I'm going to be able to walk straight," Caitlin said laughing as she dressed. She was just a tad sore but what a wonderful reason to be sore.

Hawke gave her a smug grin as he pulled on clothes he'd actually left at her apartment a few months back after a mission. "I'm glad you forgot to bring these back to me or I'd never hear the end of it from Dom if I came in wearing my suit from last night," Hawke said as he finished buttoning the blue shirt.

"I had forgotten they were here to be honest, but I do love that blue shirt on you. I was wondering where it had gone to," Caitlin said honestly as she stepped into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

He slipped into the small bathroom behind her and brushed his hair and she dug through a drawer and gave him a little plastic bag with a dentist's logo on it. "Freebies from the dentist," she said as she left the bathroom to go make coffee while he could brush his teeth.

When Hawke joined her in the kitchen they had nothing to eat, Caitlin hadn't been back to her apartment in two weeks other than a day she came to clean out the fridge and throw away anything spoiled and pack some clothes to take to the cabin. "I'd offer some cereal but I don't have any milk," she said with a shrug.

"We can grab something on the way to the hanger," Hawke said with a shrug.

When they arrived at the hanger, Dom and Emily were already there and Hawke set a bag of take out breakfast on the desk along with a small box of donuts. He got a big hug from Emily and then she ran to hug Caitlin.

"You guys get in extra early? The Jet Ranger was already here when we got here, thought you'd already be here but I guess this explains where you were," Dom said as he popped open the box of donuts.

"Something like that," Caitlin said as she took out a sausage biscuit for herself and handed Hawke the egg and cheese he'd gotten.

Emily hopped from foot to foot as she stood in front of the box of donuts trying to figure out which one she wanted. "I want the powdered one!"

Hawke laughed and helped her get it with a napkin and picked her up to sit on the edge of the desk next to him. "Figured you two already had breakfast but wouldn't mind a donut," Hawke said with a grin.

Dom nodded. "I never pass up donuts!"

"You have fun with grandpa last night?" Laughing a little at the way she was licking powdered sugar off her fingers.

"Yup! We had sketti for dinner and popcorn when we watched Rudolph and then we had hot cocoa at bedtime. He makes his just like yours and then he read me a story and I slept in your old room. You sure had a lot of model airplanes, grandpa told me what each one was," she announced before she started munching on her donut. She already had powdered sugar on her nose.

Caitlin was just watching their interaction from the little sofa in the office and loved the way Hawke so easily talked to the little girl. He really was an amazing man. She'd always known that but the way he was with children just always made her heart melt. Hawke was a genuinely good man, sure he could be cranky sometimes and had a hell of a temper when he got riled but under what could sometimes be a gruff exterior was a kind and generous soul. He'd do anything for his friends or family, he would protect perfect strangers because it was the right thing to do. She loved him even when he was bossy or stubborn or even being overbearing because she knew when he did those things it was because he was trying to protect those he cared for. Besides, not a person on earth was perfect and she didn't need him to be. She just needed him to be himself.

"Well today we have some little visitors coming to see the hanger," Dom reminded them.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that. What time will they be arriving?" Caitlin asked as she finished up her breakfast and threw out the wrapper.

"Around ten, Meg's students are real excited to see the helicopters. They all got permission slips for the rides if you guys want to help with that," Dom explained.

"Sure, why not?" Hawke said with a shrug. Meg's class wasn't terribly large and they were only going to take the kids straight up in the helicopters just about 50 feet and down the runway just a bit and back.

"The kids are all bringing sack lunches but I'm going to make a run over to Jay's and pick up drinks for everyone. Emily, you want to come with me to help me get them?" Caitlin asked as she grabbed her purse.

"Mmmkay," the little girl said and Caitlin blinked.

"Um, let's get you cleaned up first," the redhead laughed and helped the little girl with sticky fingers off the desk and into the little bathroom to wash her hands and face.

Dom was chuckling and wiping powdered sugar off his desk into a napkin. "She sure got that everywhere."

Hawke laughed and said, "Tell me about it." He looked pointedly at his thigh and Dom laughed even harder, a little white handprint was on Hawke's denim clad leg from where she'd used him to help herself down from the desk.

"You might as well get used to it, one of my buddies who had several kids said that until they reached about 10 or so you pretty much wore everything they ate, said when they were babies it was like never owning a clean shirt," Dom teased.

"I think I could live with that," Hawke said with a shrug.

Dom stopped and looked at the young man he'd raised and shook his head. "You really like the idea of being a dad, don't you?"

"Yeah, I already love Emily as if she was my own and I'm really looking forward to starting a family with Caitlin. We weren't joking when we said we want kids, we really do. Dom, I never realized how much I wanted this sort of life and now to me it is almost more exciting than flying the Lady. Sticky handprints, Strawberry Shortcake dolls and crayons scattered around the living room, I'm enjoying it," Hawke said honestly. The last few weeks had been some of the happiest of his life.

They were interrupted when Caitlin and Emily came back out of the bathroom and they gave hugs and kisses to both Dom and Hawke before they headed out to Dom's patriotic Jeep to go shopping for the kids coming to visit later.

The men moved out of the office and did some general straightening so the kids wouldn't trip over anything as they had their tour.

"Ya know kid, I don't know what happened while you were in D.C. with Michael but whatever it was, I'm grateful for it. All I have ever wanted was to see you happy," Dom said honestly.

Hawke decided he'd just tell Dom where all of it came from. "Waiting on all those committee meetings that Michael had, between the report I had to give on the Spaceguard incident, gave me a lot of time to just sit and think. I was bored out of my mind and picked up a magazine, not expecting to find anything decent to read in it. Then I stumbled across a story about a young woman with cancer. It was about how she and her fiancé got married despite the fact they knew she wasn't going to make it. He knew she was going to die before their first wedding anniversary but they did it anyway. He wanted to have whatever time there was left to love her and have her love. It was…I dunno. Some of the things he said in the interview, some of what you've been saying all along, Meg's words about my carrying around ghosts just made me realize that if Sinjin is alive or dead, either way he wouldn't want me to put my life on hold to look for him. I will still keep looking but I shouldn't just hide away from everything because I'm afraid to get too close to someone. Gabrielle and Sherry wouldn't want me to be alone forever and my parents wouldn't want me to stop living just because I'm afraid to lose someone I love. It was getting harder to force myself not to love Caitlin. Every time I thought I could maybe push her away, maybe thought I could just not feel something every time I looked at her, it would just hit me like a ton of bricks how much I loved her. It was time to stop pretending that I didn't and enjoy the time I have with her no matter how long or short that time is," Hawke explained.

Dom had listened in silence as Hawke spoke. The younger man never spoke all that much but lately that seemed to have changed. He was opening up more than Dom ever thought he would and to hear him say that much about how he felt was a rarity. His words also explained the speed at which it was all happening too. He didn't want to waste a moment. "I'm glad that you went to D.C. then. I thought you'd come back in a horrible mood and lock yourself in at the cabin. That was sort of why I forced a sickly Caitlin on you to be honest. I didn't want you to be brooding up there alone. I knew your protective streak when it comes to her would override a bad mood and I knew she would be able to cheer you up, she always does. I just didn't know all this would happen but I'm glad that you and Caitlin are together now. You don't know how happy it makes me. Breaks my heart that Emily lost her granny that way, Esme was a nice woman but I couldn't think of better parents for her."

Hawke smiled. "I hope I don't screw it up. I can't believe Esme chose me as her guardian and I really want to be a good father to her, ya know? She deserves the best, I'm not real sure I'm it but I know Caitlin is. She's great with her."

"You're pretty darn good for that little girl too, String. Trust me, that child adores you, always has and Esme knew it," Dom said with a big smile and a pat on his foster son's shoulder.

They set back to work getting things ready for the kids that would be arriving in the next hour.

Caitlin and Emily showed up shortly before ten and Hawke and Dom helped Caitlin bring in the drinks she'd gotten and put them on ice for the kids. Emily "helped" as much as she could by opening up some boxes of candy canes.

"She wanted to give the kids something more than just drinks," Caitlin said with a shrug. "I figured candy canes wouldn't hurt since it's almost Christmas."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Dom said with a grin. Emily was such a sweet child so he could easily imagine her wanting to give the visiting preschoolers something.

They'd asked if she wanted to go to Meg's preschool and Emily was still trying to decide, she really loved the hanger and spending time with her new family but it would be nice to play with kids her own age.

When the van with the children arrived, the day became a bit hectic with 10 preschoolers plus one with Emily. Two of the moms from the group also came to help wrangle the kids which made it a little easier for the adults. Only 11 to 6 adults, still not great odds with 3 and 4-year-old kids, Hawke thought, but it was still a fun day.

Emily seemed to make easy friends with a little girl her age named Melanie and a little boy named Jake, the three seemed to be attached at the hip throughout the day and both Hawke and Caitlin were glad to see her making friends.

They gave a small tour, showed the kids the engine they were working on and then Hawke and Dom used the two Jet Rangers to give the kids rides. They were able to take them up in 4 groups. Afterwards they all had lunch in the hanger. The kids next stop would be the control tower before they headed back to the preschool and Emily was good and wired even after they left.

She followed Caitlin around as she cleaned up carrying a trash bag for her and chattering on about Melanie and Jake. "Melanie said her daddy is a pedia um, a kid doctor," Emily said trailing behind Caitlin.

Caitlin laughed and said "Pediatrician?"

"Yeah, that and Jake said his daddy is a fireman and his mom is a teacher for big kids at the high school," Emily said.

"What does Melanie's mom do?" Caitlin asked as she took the bag from Emily and carried it to the dumpster.

"She said her mommy is an a counter?" Emily asked in confusion and Hawke smiled as he watched Caitlin stop and look at the child.

"A counter? An accountant?" Caitlin asked.

"Oh, yeah that. Why do people need big words for jobs?" Emily asked and Caitlin laughed.

"I dunno, sweetie that's just how it is. I'm a pilot so that is an easy word but I also do accounting work for grandpa," Caitlin explained. "And I used to be a police officer."

"YOU were a police officer?" Emily asked fascinated and Hawke couldn't help the chuckle that brought on.

Caitlin gave him a look. "Yep, I flew a helicopter for the Texas Highway Patrol, that's how I met your daddy in fact," she said with a grin.

"How?"

"He was in jail," Caitlin said with a shrug.

"Daddy was in jail?!" Emily squealed and looked at Hawke with wide eyes. "What did you do wrong, daddy?"

Dom lost it at that and said, "You're on your own there, son."

"I, um…Cait?" Hawke could get the most boyish of looks on his face sometimes and this time it was priceless, Caitlin couldn't contain herself, he looked so innocent standing there staring at her with those beautiful blue eyes she adored. She started laughing.

"He actually hadn't done anything wrong. It was a mistake him being there, but that is how I met him."

"Texas…but we're in California…isn't Texas a long way, it's two whole puzzle pieces between here and there?" Emily asked remembering her puzzle map of the states.

Hawke loved the way Emily's mind worked and couldn't wait to hear how Caitlin answered this question.

"Well, I guess it is, Arizona and New Mexico and then Texas, which on its own is a big state," Caitlin said with a grin.

Emily nodded, knowing that Texas was one of the easier puzzle pieces to put on her map because it was so big.

"I decided to come to California to find him," Caitlin said simply.

"Why?"

Hawke hung his head as he worked on a carburetor and thought, 'Oh boy…I gotta hear this.'

"Well you see there was something I needed to do, coming here to California, I guess I didn't have to do it in person but I really wanted to see him again and let him know that I came here," Caitlin explained carefully leaving out the fact she'd brought a dead body back to California for burial.

"Why did you want to see him again?"

"Oh, when you get a little older you'll understand but I really thought he was a great guy and I wanted to see him again, I wanted to be his friend," Caitlin explained carefully, starting to feel a little embarrassed.

"Did you kiss him like you do all the time now?"

Hawke snorted and continued to vigorously degrease the part he was working on. Caitlin shot him a dirty look.

"Not that day," Caitlin said honestly. "But you should have seen the smile he gave me."

"So, you were friends but not the kissing kind," Emily said trying to understand in her childish way.

"The kissing kind is the best kind," Hawke said interrupting and Caitlin shot him a look.

"You hush," she warned and he laughed. "No, we weren't the kissing kind of friends until more recently."

"That's not true, you kissed me just a few days after you got to California," Hawke said and couldn't help grinning at her.

"That was not a real kiss, that was a movie kiss," Caitlin said with her hands on her hips.

"What's a movie kiss?"

Caitlin hung her head and sighed. "It's different from a real kiss, a movie kiss was because we were acting as part of our jobs as stunt pilots. The script called for us to kiss, so we had to kiss until the director told us to stop. It was just for the movie."

Dom walked through then and called out, "That's not how I remember it, neither of you noticed when the director told you to stop."

Emily grinned real big at that. "You forgot to stop? You guys do that all the time. Melanie said her parents do that too. Jake said it's yucky."

Dom practically howled as he picked up the paperwork he was after and chuckled all the way back to the office.

Caitlin's face was as red as her coveralls and she finally looked at Hawke who was trying so hard not to laugh but he was shaking trying to hold it in. He figured Jake would change his mind when he got about 10 to 12 years older.

Caitlin latched onto the child's new friends as a way to change the embarrassing topic she'd let herself fall into. "Speaking of Melanie and Jake, do you think you want to start going to Meg's preschool so you can spend more time with them?" Caitlin asked, thanking God for that segue.

"I dunno. Would I have to go every day?" Emily asked.

"Not unless you want to, you could choose to still spend a day or two a week here at the hanger so you can be around us and grandpa, maybe on days when we aren't too busy?" Caitlin suggested. It would also help get her ready for kindergarten next year.

"Okay, that sounds like fun," Emily agreed.

"Great, we can talk to Meg in a day or so. Now come on in the office and color for a while so I can finish up the paperwork I need to do for grandpa," Caitlin said offering the girl her hand and they walked back to the office.

On their way, Hawke stopped Caitlin and said, "I'm glad you looked me up, ya know."

Caitlin smiled at him. "You better be."


	16. Chapter 16

The call at the hanger from Michael surprised Hawke, he wasn't expecting to hear from the man until after he had the new facility up and running.

"I need to come to the hanger, Hawke. It's a bit of a long story but it has to do with Sinjin. I'd rather talk in person I just wanted to make sure I caught up with you," Michael explained.

Caitlin walked up to him as he settled the phone back in its cradle.

"Michael is coming by he says he has information about Sinjin, wouldn't tell me anything on the phone," Hawke said reaching out and pulling her close to him.

"Maybe it is good news then, don't start worrying until we talk to him," Caitlin reassured, her hand caressing his chest over the buttons of his shirt.

When Michael arrived, he was dressed in jeans and a denim shirt and had driven himself in a dark sedan that Hawke knew was actually his personal vehicle.

"No more chauffeurs?" Dom asked.

"For now," Michael said in return. Technically he was not actually 'on the clock'.

"I'm supposed to be on vacation but some of the information I had been seeking popped up and I didn't want to wait to give it to you."

"It must be important then," Hawke said standing up straighter from where he was leaned on a desk. "What's this all about, you said it has to do with Sinjin."

"Let me start at the beginning, I told you I had more access now and Marella and I started piecing together random intel reports from various agencies. Thank God for Larry Mason, he was the one who helped the most piecing it all together," Michael began.

"Mason? I thought he was in Mexico and retired?" Hawke questioned.

"He is but he is still a genius with this sort of puzzle and he wanted to help, he feels he owes you, Hawke for all you did for him. At any rate, we didn't think we had anything at first and then it all just came together. As of 10 years ago, I can say definitively your brother was alive and living in a small village in Vietnam. The information gets a bit dodgy after that, but we will continue to look for him. The important part is Sinjin, had a wife and a son," Michael explained.

Hawke collapsed back onto the desk, his knees giving out under him. "So, ten years ago for sure you know he was alive?" God, Sinjin really could still be alive. He'd wanted to believe it, argued with anyone who said he wasn't but now…it was a real possibility.

"Yes, and we think he is still alive now, we just haven't figured out where. Now as we managed to work out he was held as a POW in at least three different locations, he was moved a couple times. He was held approximately 4 years but about a year after the war he was finally released. His captors just sort of walked out. They opened the doors and instead of turning the prisoners back over to American military since they'd lied about still having captives they just let them go. If they found their way to civilization without dying then bully for them. Sinjin wasn't in the best of shape, from what we found out he had a broken arm, broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a severe infection and a horrible case of dysentery but set out walking just like the others. He and another man got separated from the group. The other man didn't make it, he stepped on a mine. Sinjin had grown too weak and ill to keep going and had passed out in some farmer's field. The farmer took him in, nursed him back to health, he stayed with the Van family for almost three years. He and Ana Van were married in a traditional rural ceremony but because Sinjin had no property and was not Vietnamese there were some issues around that. Things to do with bridepay and other traditions that some of the other villagers resented, one in particular."

"Why didn't he try to contact us?" Hawke asked.

"Well in rural Vietnam you know as well as I do that he couldn't just drop down to the corner 7-Eleven and make a collect call home," Michael said with a shrug. "But from the reports we turned up part of the torture in the camp was mental and emotional. The warlord Trang Ling who held you captive a few months knew of your search for Sinjin. When you got away and he was reassigned to another camp that warlord found your brother and excelled at torturing him with claims of your death. Sinjin, for all he knows, even now, probably thinks that you are dead and he believes he was the reason for your death. The farmer said that Sinjin was heartbroken over the death of his brother and was of the impression that Sinjin's entire family were gone."

"Ling was a sadistic bastard. He had my dog tags, he took them when I was a prisoner. When I got back to An Khe I had to have new tags issued. He must have used them to convince Sinjin that I was dead," Hawke said softly. He didn't talk often about the few months he'd been held captive because he felt that he'd been lucky and what he'd endured was nothing compared to other men and especially his brother.

"That seems to confirm what we've learned. Sinjin had your dog tags. In the time he was with the Van family, he and the eldest daughter Ana had a child named Le Van Hawke. Unfortunately, shortly after Le was born, a KGB backed force came to the village. Van's family tried to hide Sinjin, knowing that an American would be a real problem but one of the villagers gave away Sinjin to them. He was taken by that group and from there the trail went cold. Ana sent Le to her sister in Ho Chi Minh City for safety so no one could use the child in some way but when she went later to find her son and sister they were gone. They had come to America and Ana headed for America herself. She was only reunited for a short time with Le before she was killed in a car wreck in upstate Oregon," Michael explained.

"So, the trail went cold on Sinjin but what about my nephew now that he is state side?" Hawke asked.

"Yes, the trail went cold but we managed to pick up something around that same time about some POW's of various nationalities being moved across borders and into Russia but right now we just don't have anything more to go on. Larry is still working on it though. As far as your nephew goes, he's here in California in fact. Minh Van, Ana's sister married an American named Darren McBride, they brought Le to America with them. We've managed to track them down and have an address for them if you want to meet the boy," Michael ended his tale there.

"Of course, I want to meet him, Michael!" Hawke snapped.

Michael took some papers from his back pocket and handed them to Hawke. There were a few photos of the child, he was a cute kid. The rest was an address for his school and the home address of Darren and Minh Van McBride.

"Do you want company?" Caitlin asked as she watched him look over the papers.

"Would you mind if I went alone? It's just an hour away up in Lancaster." Normally he would love for Cait to come with him but he just wanted to meet his nephew for the first time on his own for some reason.

"Not at all, just be careful driving up there," she said in return.

"I'll leave my Jeep and take my bike in case you need it," Hawke said as he gave her a tender kiss. He went over to where Emily had been playing the whole time they'd talked and gave her a hug and a kiss and told her that he'd be late tonight.

When Hawke returned to the cabin late that night, Caitlin was still up waiting on him.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked as he entered the cabin.

"I was worried," Caitlin said putting her bookmark in her book and setting it aside. "How'd it go?"

"Good I guess. He's a great kid. I went by his school he's in fourth-grade and he was hustling other kids in a game of quarters," he laughed.

"Hustling huh? Wonder where he gets that from?" Caitlin teased and Hawke sat back on the couch with her.

"I talked to the McBride's, Minh Van had some photos of Sinjin and his ring. Le doesn't remember his dad at all but he said his mom cried a lot. The thing bugging me is that McBride swears that he thought Sinjin died but I told him that wasn't the information we'd gotten. He said he hoped that Sinj was still alive but something about his story about working with Sinjin just didn't set well with me," Hawke explained.

Caitlin thought for a moment and wrapped her fingers around Hawke's. "Your gut is usually right, so if it didn't sit well then something is wrong with his story. Maybe he never knew Sinjin at all?"

"No, I believe he knew him just…not as well as he said. He said Sinjin never once mentioned me and honestly that is confusing. I'd think if they were as close as this guy claimed then he'd know about me. Even if Sinj thought I was dead…even then I don't not talk about him and I doubt he would either," Hawke explained. "It just seems wrong."

"Then it is. I trust your gut over some stranger any day," Caitlin said firmly. "Come on, let's go to bed, it is late and you had a long day."

The next day, Hawke spent talking to Michael about what he'd learned about McBride and Michael shared some information on the man who helped Minh Van and Le get passage to America to begin with. McBride's record was clean but Carson who had helped the family seemed to have quite a few shady dealings that seemed to fly under the radar. He certainly had more money stashed away than his social work would have afforded him. Marella and Michael were still doing a bit of digging there.

Hawke decided to ask if Le could come visit him at the cabin over the weekend. The family agreed and Friday evening, Hawke went to pick up Le from school and brought him back to the hanger where he met Caitlin, Emily and Dom. That evening, Hawke flew and Caitlin sat in the back with Emily to allow Le to sit up front for the best view. He was excited about flying in the helicopter and seemed to really be enjoying himself.

"This is where you live?" Le asked as they settled on the dock.

"Yep, we're planning on adding onto the cabin so Emily can have her own room and maybe one for you too if you want to come and stay sometimes," Hawke offered.

"I think I'd like that," Le said as he shouldered his bag and followed his uncle and future aunt and he supposed his cousin Emily to the cabin.

Two dogs greeted them and Hawke let them out to run around while he set to work building up the fire in the fireplace.

"Wow, nice digs," Le said as Caitlin directed him to set his overnight bag on the window seat.

"Come on in, you want anything to drink?"

"Nah, I'm good," he answered. Emily tugged on his sleeve.

"You wanna play?"

She was quite a bit younger than him and he wasn't real sure about playing with a little girl but he shrugged, why not? "Sure, what do you want to play?"

"How about tag?"

"That's cool," Le answered and asked Caitlin if it would be okay for him and Emily to play outside.

She agreed and watched as the two went chasing each other out into the yard.

Hawke stood up and opened the door, "Hey, don't get too close to the lake, it's slippery out there," Hawke warned as he went to grab a few more logs to carry up to the loft.

The snow had melted quite a bit in the last few days but the temperatures had dropped again today enough to refreeze an icy layer over the snow that had gotten some sunshine.

Caitlin set to work making dinner and once Hawke was done with getting the chill off the cabin he went out to watch the kids. Emily and Le were both giggling and chasing each other and the dogs were joining in as well. Hawke leaned against the porch rail and watched as Emily caught Le in their game of tag.

"Man, she's fast for having such short legs!" Le teased as he ran breathlessly up to the porch.

"She has two speeds, running wild and dead stop," Hawke teased.

"I believe it! It sure is pretty up here and I love that you have snow! Kinda quiet though, I'm not used to that," Le commented.

"I like quiet but not everyone else likes what I do," Hawke said with a shrug.

Emily came bounding up with Sally and Tet and threw a snowball at Le.

It hit him on the leg and he yelped, "Hey! Alright, cuz you better run," he teased good naturedly and made a snowball himself. Hawke just laughed as he watched them hiding behind trees and taking snowball sniper shots at each other.

Emily didn't have the greatest distance with her throws but her accuracy wasn't bad. Le managed to catch her running between trees though and swung the little girl around in his arms laughing at her. They were giggling wildly as he fell over in the snow with the little girl.

Hawke walked over and picked them both up, dusting some of the snow off. "Come on before you both turn into ice cubes," he told them both. He scooped Emily up under his arm and Le wasn't a large child at all so he did the same with Le on the other side and carried them both back up to the porch. Their faces were red from the cold and they were both smiling brightly as they trudged inside. "Take your boots off," Hawke reminded Emily and Le toed off his now damp tennis shoes. He took them over to the hearth and set them there to dry out.

"Change your socks and both of you get cleaned up for dinner," Caitlin told them as she bustled around the kitchen.

"Something smells good," Hawke commented as he walked in and started helping with whatever she needed.

"Thanks, it's a new recipe I got from Serena at the copy shop," Caitlin said with a shrug. "Sounded like something you'd like, an Italian fish and pasta dish."

The kids came tramping down the stairs and Hawke grinned at them as Emily automatically helped Le to find the dishes to set the table. "We didn't even have to ask them," Hawke commented.

"They are good kids," Caitlin said with a grin and headed to the table with dinner.

"That smells really good Aunt Cait," Le said politely.

"I hope it tastes as good, it's a new recipe, so if it is a bomb we might end up with grilled cheese," Caitlin said as Hawke pour drinks for everyone.

"I like grilled cheese!" Emily said, seemingly affronted by her favorite sandwich being considered something you just ended up with.

The next day, Hawke took Le on a little hike in the woods just the two of them. They talked about Sinjin and about his current living situation. Hawke asked him outright if he liked living with the McBride's and told him that he always would have a place here at the cabin to visit or to live.

Sunday afternoon they returned Le back to the McBride home and planned to see him again later in the week. Before then they got a frantic phone call from Minh saying that Le had run away, she said he'd done it before.

Hawke, McBride and the social worker Carson all went looking for the kid and finally found him in an ally outside a video arcade, a bunch of older boys harassing him. It was easy to figure out the kid had hustled them. He hadn't so much run away as he decided he wanted to go play video games. It frustrated Hawke but it made sense too. Le acted a lot older than he was sometimes.

Over the course of the next few days, Hawke had discovered why McBride was so insistent that Sinjin was dead, despite Michael's very good intel that said he wasn't. McBride and Carson, along with a couple of other guys were using the caskets of MIA vets to bring in heroin from Vietnam. One of the caskets that was supposed to bring back Sinjin's body turned out to be full of heroin.

Hawke got Darren McBride to admit the scheme, okay, the Lady and Hawke got him to admit the scheme. That was twice now he had to use the Lady in a non-combat situation just using her to force a man into submission. It worked without Darren getting hurt other than having the crap scared out of him. Darren was going to jail for a long time, the judge on the case was a veteran and very pissed off that they had used the MIA caskets as a cover. It was disgusting using people's loved ones that way. Hawke knew the judge was going to throw the book at him.

Hawke and Caitlin left Emily with Dom at the hanger while they went to Minh Van McBride's house. Le was at school and they wanted to talk to her and see if she needed anything. All she'd ever been was a housewife since marrying McBride.

Over coffee at the kitchen table Hawke asked a tearful Minh what her plans were.

"I don't know. I can't afford the house, I don't have a job. I don't know what I'm going to do," she said wiping at her eyes.

"Look, my apartment is coming up for a lease renewal in January. Why don't you move in there? It'll be cheaper than the house, you can put it on the market and hopefully sell it fast. Then you won't have to worry about the payment," Caitlin offered.

"I still need to find a job though to pay the rent," Minh said softly.

"The 94th has a sign up needing a waitress, do you think you could do that? Dom is good friends with the owner," Hawke said patting her hands.

"I can wait tables, I did it in Vietnam," she admitted. "But what about Le? I'm not sure I can make enough to pay for an apartment and to pay for everything he needs and deserves just waiting tables."

"I…I don't want to take him away from you, Minh but Le is welcome at the cabin anytime. Maybe during the summers, he could stay with us? I'll help you out with the lease on the apartment too. With you right in town at Cait's old place you could see him anytime you want in the summer too. You could even babysit for us sometimes if you want for Emily. The hanger is right down the street from the 94th too. You'd be like part of our family, Minh. You are after all my sister-in-law's sister and we all love Le. I'd be happy to chip in on anything Le needs for school and stuff," Hawke explained.

"Are you sure? I…I don't want to accept your money, Hawke but I'm not sure I can make it on my own supporting both Le and myself," Minh admitted.

"I'm sure and don't worry about the money, it's just paper, huh? Family is more important," Hawke told her and Caitlin found herself unable to keep from smiling at her fiancé. He was the best.

"Your brother was a good man too," Minh said softly and looked up at Hawke. "He loved my sister very much."

"I don't doubt it for a moment. He wouldn't have married her if he didn't love her, Minh and he wouldn't have left if he didn't have to. I know Darren told you not to tell me the truth but was he really taken by KGB?" Hawke asked.

"I don't know. They were Russian, I suppose they could have been. They came to the village after I had left. I only found out later when my father brought Le to me. He said that Russians had come to the village looking for American POW's that they had heard had been released. Father said he tried to hide Sinjin but one of the men who didn't like father or Sinjin told them where he was. Father said they took him and Ana was afraid they might come back if they discovered he had a wife and child. So, he brought Le and said Ana would come soon to join us but then we had to get out of the city, Darren had arranged passage for us it was not safe and we had to get out," Minh explained.

It all matched up with what Larry and Michael had uncovered. It actually gave him more hope of finding Sinjin alive one day. "Thank you, Minh. Your story confirms what little we've been able to find out. Dom and I will come by tomorrow to take you to the 94th where you can talk to Buddy, he's a great guy and I think you'll like working there."

"Sure, that sounds good, call me later and let me know what time?"

"Will do. Give Le our love," Hawke told her and she smiled.

"I will, thank you, String and you too Caitlin. I have been so worried," Minh admitted.

"Don't worry, let us help you. We want to, okay?" Caitlin said understanding that it was difficult for her to accept charity but right now she truly did need help. "Plus, we'd like to invite you and Le up to the cabin for Christmas Eve to spend it with us and let the kids enjoy Christmas morning together. What do you think?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful. It would make it easier for Le without Darren here. Despite his faults, Darren loves Le and Le loves him," Minh said sadly and Hawke gave her a small hug.

"I know, I saw how protective he was of him when Le ran off that night. We will all make sure he and Emily both have a good Christmas despite all of the bad things that have happened in the last several weeks," Hawke said as they left.

Minh knew that Emily's parents were dead and that her grandmother had recently died as well. She liked the little girl and thought that perhaps Le and the little foster cousin of his could bond and become good friends despite their age difference. The Hawke's being in their lives might be a good thing, she only wished Ana had lived and could be here now with them.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning Hawke and Dom drove up to Lancaster to get Minh and take her down to Van Nuys to meet Buddy at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant. It was one of their favorite restaurants in the area and Buddy was a great friend of Dom's from the war. The eclectic restaurant would be a perfect place for Minh to work where they knew she'd be treated right and be just down the road from the hanger. Buddy hired her, mostly on Dom and Hawke's word, though he did ask her a few questions about serving and things like that. She answered, sometimes struggling with the English words for things but for the most part, he thought she'd work out.

She asked if she could start after the New Year because she was currently living in Lancaster and wanted to wait until Le was out of school before moving. His last day of school was the following day. They planned to move to the apartment in Van Nuys, spend Christmas with the Hawke's and then she'd start work on January 2nd if he was fine with that.

The waitress who was quitting was leaving on the 5th of January so that worked out fine for him, she could have a couple days to train Minh before she left to go to college.

Minh was thrilled after they left and they dropped by the hanger. She couldn't quit smiling, she had a job! She'd be able to support herself and Le for the most part. Le's family had come through not only for him but for her too. She knew Ana had loved Sinjin Hawke desperately. They'd fallen in love quickly while he was recuperating at their parent's farm and now she knew that his family was just as kind as he had been to Ana and her family. She never really met him, she was working in Saigon at the time but Ana had sent letters.

Caitlin then took Minh to her old apartment so she could check it out. Caitlin had lucked into the two-bedroom apartment because of a mix up, she'd gotten it at the single bedroom rate for the lease term. She took Minh to the office to talk to her landlady and managed to get Mrs. Bianchi to agree to let her keep that rate because of her unique situation. The lease would transfer to Minh after the first of the year and Caitlin went ahead and paid the first two months' rent for her right then. Minh had protested at her doing two months but Caitlin told her it was fine.

"Remember what String said, it is only paper, family is more important," Caitlin reminded her and Minh gave her a tearful smile.

"You've all been so kind, even after all the trouble Darren caused," Minh said and Caitlin gave her a hug.

"You weren't involved in that, Minh. We know that and we'd never turn our backs on you and Le," Caitlin told her.

They returned to the apartment and Caitlin showed her around. Many of her things were already going into boxes to get them out before Minh and Le could move in.

"You've already started packing?" Minh asked.

"Yeah, I'm moving out after all," Caitlin said with a happy smile and Minh realized how happy the American woman was about her upcoming wedding.

Some of Caitlin's furniture was going into storage at the hanger, only a few items were going up to the cabin for now. Maybe more would come up when they got the additions done. So, Minh helped her pack her kitchen up and then Hawke came to drive Minh back up to Lancaster to pick up Le from school. They would start packing that evening.

Caitlin was still boxing up things at her apartment when Dom arrived with Emily to help. The hanger was closed until New Year and he brought Ev their mechanic with him too and they carried boxes out to a U-Haul they'd picked up. When Hawke arrived, all that was left was the furniture. Thankfully, Caitlin hadn't ever been much of a packrat so it hadn't been a hard move at all. Plus, her apartment was only 10 minutes from the hanger so it took no time to get everything moved that was going into storage and the rest mostly kitchen things and clothing and a few photos of Caitlin's family they packed in the Jet Ranger to take up to the cabin.

The apartment was completely empty by the next afternoon and they made their first trip to Lancaster to start moving Minh and Le's things. Caitlin and Minh stayed to continue packing boxes and things while the men got the furniture moved and some of the boxes already packed moved. They used a couple of Jeeps and U-Haul trailers to get it all done in as few trips as possible since it was an hour's drive one way.

By the time everything was moved, all of them were exhausted but happy it had been done in just two and a half days and the next day was Christmas Eve. Minh's new apartment was crowded with boxes and people but they ordered pizza and all of them just pulled up a box or the floor to eat. Already Minh and Le were feeling as if they were part of a family.

Dom entertained them all with some of his old war stories and the kids fell asleep with Le propped against the couch and Emily with her head in his lap for a pillow. Caitlin nudged Hawke and he glanced over to see the kids asleep and he looked at Minh and nodded his head toward the sleeping children. She had a huge smile on her face, happy to see Le and his new cousin getting on so well despite the age difference.

Around two in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, Minh and Le met Hawke at the hanger where he bundled them and their boxes of presents into the helicopter to fly up to the cabin. Minh let Le sit up front in the co-pilot's seat and as they were flying Hawke asked if Le wanted to learn to fly.

"You want to give it a shot sometime?" Hawke asked.

Le was excitedly nodding. "Yeah, that'd be cool, Uncle String. You think I can?"

"Can you reach the pedals?"

"Yeah, I think so…yeah," Le said after adjusting in his seat a little.

"Okay, then some time I'll take you out and start your training, maybe this summer. It isn't something you can learn quickly like driving a car. It is sort of complicated," Hawke explained.

"Watch me," he said and Le noticed that Hawke's right hand made constant adjustments on the cyclic and sometimes he adjusted the collective with his left hand plus his feet were also moving the yaw pedals.

"It is a little like learning to juggle while riding a unicycle at first," Hawke said with a grin, "but with practice and patience you'll get it. Now, flying at altitude is totally different than a steady hover though, that would be its own set of lessons."

"Wow, you make it look so easy," Le said watching and paying attention to the fact that his uncle really was doing a lot of things all at once.

"I've been flying since I was about your age though. Trust me, my first lessons with my dad and Dom were not pretty. My first landing was horrible actually, I nearly jarred my own teeth out," he said with a laugh at the memory.

"Good to know that perfection isn't expected at first then," Le said with a grin.

"Safety is always the most important thing. Until you've been doing it for years and fully licensed you shouldn't fly alone, in fact, you can't legally fly alone until after you are 17. It galled me to no end that I knew how to fly at 15 but had to wait 2 more years before I could fly on my own. Your dad used to tease me about it because he was older. Irked the crap out of me," he admitted and Le laughed.

"At least I don't have to worry about a big brother then," Le said with a grin and Minh was smiling from her seat in the back.

When they arrived at the cabin, Minh commented that Le had said it was beautiful there but it was a sight you had to see to believe. There was snow on the ground and the trees, it had snowed again up on the mountain the night before, the cabin had smoke coming from the chimneys and the lake was reflecting the sun beautifully. She understood now why Le hadn't stopped talking about Uncle String's cabin for hours after he came home from his first visit.

Emily and the dogs trotted out to greet them on the dock, followed by Dom and Caitlin. They welcomed Le and Minh and helped them carrying in their luggage and packages.

Emily tripped going up the steps and squealed but before she could hit the ground Le caught her. "Watch out, munchkin," he said helping her stand back up.

"Thanks!" she chirped happily and Hawke asked if she was okay.

"Yep, Le saved me," she said as she made her way back up the stairs.

Hawke grinned at Caitlin and Minh and reached out to ruffle Le's hair.

"Thanks, half-pint," he said as he went into the cabin after the ladies.

Le smiled up at his uncle. He really liked Emily, she was a sweet kid and everyone was so nice to him. He was sad about Darren being in prison but this new family was pretty cool. Uncle String was certain his dad was still alive, even though he didn't remember his real dad, Le hoped he was a lot like his brother. He really liked Uncle String and hoped to one day meet his dad.

"Oh, the decorations are so pretty," Minh said as they all got inside.

"Caitlin, Emily and our friend Marella did it," Hawke said as he put the boxes and bags of Christmas gifts down by the tree. He took the wrapped parcels out and spread them out among the other boxes and bags already there.

"And I have to add two more stockings, right here," Caitlin said as she hung them up next to the others. "Now there's one for everyone."

Le stared at them a moment. "Who are the other two people coming?"

Emily started to giggle. "They are Tet and Sally's stockings."

"The dogs get their own stockings?" the boy asked incredulously.

"Why shouldn't they, they're really good dogs," Emily said as if everyone should know that little fact.

Dom laughed and shook his head as he set Minh and Le's luggage under the stairs and out of the way.

"It's going to be pretty crowded in here tonight," he said.

"Well, Hawke, Emily and I will be up in the loft, Le if you don't mind sharing with Minh the two of you can sleep on the sofa bed, it pulls out," Caitlin said.

"What about grandpa?" Emily asked.

"Grandpa is going to go home and sleep in his own bed, I'll be back in the morning," Dom explained. Emily's face fell into a pout.

"But you won't be here for breakfast?"

"Of course, I will. I'll be back first thing in the morning, I want to see what Santa brings you, ya know!" Dom said cheerfully.

Le rolled his eyes about the Santa reference but knew not to say anything in front of Emily. He learned young that there was no Santa but he didn't want to spoil it for the little girl. Hawke caught the look from the 10-year-old and was glad he didn't say anything to ruin it for Emily.

"Well everyone get comfy, I need to start dinner," Caitlin said.

"You want some help?" Minh asked and Caitlin said sure. Hawke followed the ladies into the kitchen.

"Need me to do anything?"

"I think we've got everything but you could give me a little kiss," Caitlin said leaning over and kissing him softly on the lips. "Now, go entertain the kids or something."

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a grin and headed back to the living room.

Emily had seen the kiss and just shook her head.

"What is it?" Le asked sitting on the floor next to her.

"Mommy and daddy, they can't seem to go a few hours without kissing," she said with a shrug. "I only had granny that I remember so I'm not used to it. My friend Macy's parents almost never kiss, all they do is argue."

"Trust me, if they kiss all the time that is much better than arguing. That means they really do love each other and that's a good thing," Le told her.

"My friend Jake says it's gross," Emily said laughing.

Le started laughing too. "Yeah, I used to think so too. It changes when you get older though."

"What did you ask Santa for?" Emily asked changing the subject.

"Uh, actually I didn't ask Santa for anything this year," Le said with a shrug. "I did ask my Aunt for a new Walkman and there were a few other things I'd like, I'd love a Nintendo that I read about but they aren't even available here yet. They only have them in New York."

"Oh. You should have sent a letter to Santa, I'm sure he would have brought you one from New York," Emily said innocently and Le just laughed.

"That's okay, there is always next year."

Hawke and Dom had listened in on their conversation and Dom leaned over to whisper. "Guess you were right, it was worth going all the way to New York for that thing."

Hawke grinned at him. Michael when talking about technology changing regarding Airwolf he mentioned that even toys were getting more advanced. He said something had come out in October that was going to be bigger than Atari but so far it had only been available in New York and was selling like hotcakes. Hawke knew Le was heavily into video games, loved the arcades and he didn't want him going to them and hustling older kids like he'd done before. It got him into too much trouble. If Hawke was going to get a TV and VCR for the cabin for Emily to occasionally watch then the least he could do was get something Le could use too and Emily might want to watch him play or even play with him. He could take it home now and bring it back with him during the summer break.

Although he and Dom probably shouldn't have used Airwolf to fly to New York last week to go Christmas shopping but what Michael didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. Besides, the Lady had needed to stretch her legs and Hawke's trip to Tiffany's would probably please Caitlin too.

It wasn't long before Caitlin and Minh joined them in the living room while they waited on dinner to finish up in the oven. Caitlin slipped her arm around Hawke and leaned her head against his as they watched the kids in the floor.

Le was helping Emily put together a puzzle, it was too easy for him but he fumbled and let her do most of it so he wouldn't finish it for her.

"Le's really good big brother material," Caitlin whispered and Hawke smiled.

"He is very patient with her, most boys his age wouldn't want anything to do with a 4-year-old girl. I almost feel like he inherited it from Sinjin, he always was a really good big brother. He was patient with me like that, not as big an age difference but still, he does remind me of him in his attitude and even in the way he walks. It just reminds me a lot of his mannerisms even though he's never even been around him since he was a baby," Hawke commented.

"My brother Brian never met our grandfather but he is just like him. He sits the same way, he carries himself the same, walks the same and even crosses his legs the exact same way grandpa did but grandpa passed when Brian was only two. There is no way he learned all that just from when he was that small."

"Hmm, maybe we do pass on more than just our looks or brains then," Hawke said with a shrug.

"I tend to think so. I may have my mother's eyes and my dad's hair color but my mother says my disposition is all grandma, my dad's mother," Caitlin said with a laugh. "She was a tough cookie, her husband died young in a horseback riding accident and she ran the ranch on her own, raised the kids and even fought off coyotes a time or two."

Hawke smiled and shook his head. "Sounds like you are a lot like her, that same tenacity and drive to do what needs to be done."

Caitlin smiled at the compliment and got up to check on dinner. The timer would be going off soon. Minh noticed and got up with her to help. Hawke did the same, the three of them taking turns at the kitchen sink to wash up and then they started getting drinks organized and called Emily and Le to go wash up. Dom went up with the kids and supervised to make sure they actually did wash their hands, he caught the boys more than once just saying they did when they were young.

Once everyone was back downstairs the table was set and Minh and Caitlin put the food on the bar so they could just get what they wanted buffet style. Caitlin had been cooking most of the day and they'd just eat left overs tomorrow for Christmas dinner. Dom was making Christmas brunch for them though.

It was a bit of a pinch to get everyone around the dining table but leaving the food on the bar had helped a lot with that. They definitely needed more room especially if their family was to keep growing like this. Caitlin's wish for Christmas and for the New Year was that they'd find Sinjin, she knew that was likely Hawke's wishes too and maybe even Dom's. She hoped that they'd need an extra chair and larger dining table for next Christmas Eve dinner. Maybe room for a high chair too?

Hawke saw her staring around the room a little and wondered what Caitlin was thinking about. Maybe about how small the area was. It was a tight fit, they'd talked about expanding the cabin, adding on rooms but he might also need to do a little rearranging and get a larger dining table for them to have more room to have family over for holiday dinners. This small table had them practically elbow to elbow but it was nice to have a packed house for a change. It had been a long time since the old cabin had so much life inside it.

Christmas had turned out to be just as wonderful as Christmas Eve and the newly expanded family seemed to be settling in well. Minh and Le had become part of their family in such a short time, Emily was happy with her new parents, Aunt Minh, Cousin Le and Grandpa Dom.

Hawke still wished another place could have been set at Christmas brunch for Sinjin but he finally felt like they were closer than ever to finding his brother. Michael was working with Larry and if anyone could find all the pieces to the puzzle that was Sinjin's life these last years it would be Larry.

He was also thrilled to have Le in his life, his brother's son. He had the FIRM officially off his back, was marrying the love of his life and had become the guardian of an adorably sweet little girl. It was the best Christmas he could remember since before his parents passed.

New Year was just a short time away and he honestly felt for the first time in years that this next year would be a great one.

Dom had similar thoughts as he watched the kids playing in the floor. Le was in heaven over his game system, reading all the manuals and already working on hooking it to the TV that Hawke had gotten. That had been surprising, String had never owned a TV before. Reception up here was crap but Le could still play his games and Emily could watch the few videos they'd gotten her.

Emily had also been thrilled over the bike that she got from "Santa" but was upset she couldn't ride it here in the snow. Hawke promised he'd give her lessons at the hanger.

He was one proud and happy grandpa on this Christmas day. Hawke and Cait had both given him gifts that he was happy with. Hawke had given him a gift certificate to his favorite restaurant, Cait had given him a brand new Santini Air hat and Le and Minh had given him the same sort of gloves they also gave to String. Nice soft leather gloves that would be perfect for flying. Emily gave him a little book with photos that she'd put together with some of her childish drawings and he cherished it.

Caitlin sat snuggled up next to Hawke and she was unable to stop reaching up to touch the delicately beautiful pearl and blue diamond earrings that Hawke had given her. When she opened the wrapping paper to see the robin's egg blue box with the words Tiffany and Co. in silver she couldn't believe it. Hawke had gone all the way to New York to get them when he and Dom had gone to get Le's gift.

She already planned to wear them on her wedding day as her "something blue" and were given with love. Emily had given her a hand decorated picture frame with a photo that Dom had gotten from Doc. It turned out it matched the one she gave Hawke. Le and Minh had given her a pretty scarf and glove set and Dom had given her a gift certificate to a spa in LA.

Hawke had been happy with his gifts too, Cait had gotten him a rare copy of _The Portrait of Dorian Gray_ for his library and Dom had given him some fishing fly's he couldn't wait to try out with Doc in the spring. Le and Minh gave him a nice pair of leather gloves and Emily had made him a picture frame that she and Dom had put a picture of him with Cait and Emily. It was one that Doc had taken of them in front of the fireplace with the dogs.

The kids were excited and happy with their gifts and Cait was glad to have given Minh a beautiful shawl that she had wrapped around her even now.

Minh was grateful that she and Le were not alone on the holiday, happy that they were among friends and family and that these people genuinely seemed to care about both Le and herself. That in itself was a gift, though the small gifts they had all exchanged had warmed her heart. These were good people, her brother in law's family. She was sure Ana was smiling on her today.

It was one of the best memories all of them would have.


	18. Chapter 18

Once the holidays were over, things started to return to routine at the hanger, though things were still slow. Caitlin started taking her classes again but they were only a few hours a week. The hanger being a little slow allowed Caitlin and Hawke time to plan their wedding with frequent phone calls to Doc and Maxine.

One of the costume designers they knew from the films they had worked on had jumped on the chance of designing Cait's wedding dress when she found out they were engaged. Caitlin had run into her at one of the wedding shops she was looking at dresses in. She had been so excited when she told Hawke he found himself excited about the idea too. Hawke even found himself enjoying the plans they were making, it wasn't exactly his sort of thing, he'd even teased once that weddings were depressing. But he'd found he was excited about planning the wedding with Caitlin. Emily had even had some input since she was going to be their flower girl.

Emily had started spending Tuesday and Thursday at Meg's day care center since those were the days Caitlin was in class and the rest of the week with them at the hanger. She seemed to really enjoy it and loved spending a few days a week with her new friends. Hawke and Caitlin thought it was good for her to spend the time with children her own age.

Life was starting to fall into a nice, normal pattern and Hawke couldn't have been happier. He and Dom still took the Lady out once a week on a test flight or maintenance and kept in touch with Michael and Karen Hansen about the upgrades planned. Karen wanted to perform the major computer upgrades in late January after their honeymoon.

Afternoons at the hanger became interesting having both Le and Emily to contend with playing around the place, Le, sometimes doing homework, as he waited on Minh to get off work to come pick him up. Some nights the boy would still come up to the cabin and spend time with his new extended family and give Minh a night to herself. Sometimes she came up too and enjoyed spending the evening with her new family.

Hawke had drawn up blueprints for the addition to the cabin and had already been talking to a friend of Dom's that did construction. They didn't think it was going to take too long once they got started. The interior would take the longest but they figured they'd have the exterior done in about two months.

Things changed on January 10, 1987. An earthquake magnitude 7.4 hit in the Baja area and Santini Air was on search and rescue and emergency supply runs. Minh kept Le and Emily for the team while Doc flew down and helped the rest of them with the operation.

Michael and Marella had come to the Santini Air hanger with some of their staff and worked there to coordinate the efforts as well letting the Red Cross set up in the hanger. They volunteered taking in donated supplies, bottle water, foods, medicines and so on.

The first day after the quake was the busiest for the team, they were almost constantly in the air, ferrying supplies down that morning and then search and rescue the rest of the day. Hawke and Doc had been working as a team with a Red Cross medic in one particularly hard-hit area, air lifting the injured to area hospitals in southern California for treatment. Some of the aftershocks were almost as bad as the original quake making the work more difficult and dangerous, especially to those on the ground.

Late in the afternoon, on their next to last run before they'd have to take a break Hawke had lowered Doc into a collapsed building to secure and air lift a man whose pelvis had been crushed during the earthquake. They were using a basket and working in coordination with an Army rescue team on the ground. There were a mix of private and military helicopters working the area.

When an aftershock hit while they were securing the injured victim, Doc had laid over the man to protect him from any of the building that had been left standing. Unfortunately, when one of the cinder block walls fell, some of the concrete hit the basket, jarring the helicopter and the weight of the blocks hitting the basket making them lose altitude almost causing Hawke to lose control. He fought desperately, trying not to drag the basket with the injured man and Doc hanging on across the rubble. It had been a tense and frightening few minutes as Hawke muscled and fought against the machine. The entire time the injured man screamed in pain and fear in the basket because the shot of morphine hadn't quite kicked in yet.

Doc could do nothing but hold on as some of the other rescue personnel had to rush back down the rubble pile and away from the falling walls. His left leg got a pretty bad beating by the broken bricks but he thought it was just going to be a hell of a bruise later. It was a testament to Hawke's piloting skills that the helicopter didn't crash from the sudden weight and movement on the basket.

Once the temblor slowed to a stop, everyone seemed to hold their breath for a few minutes while the helicopter settled back into a steady hover. One of the Army rescue guys named Lieutenant Garrison quickly scrambled back up to Doc and his patient. "Damn, that was scary. Either that pilot is damned lucky or he's just that damn good," he said as he lifted broken bricks away from the basket and Doc started to laugh.

"He's just that damn good," he said. "Trust me, he does movie stunts for a living."

"No shit? Ain't that cool?" the Lieutenant said as he checked their patient over and assured the man the morphine would kick in soon.

"You okay? You got slung around a bit," he asked Doc.

"I'm all right, we're going to get before another one of those aftershocks though," Doc said, pushing the button on his radio. "Hawke, reel us in, we're clear."

Hawke answered and started pulling up and the medic hit the winch to draw Doc and his patient up. The Red Cross medic in the chopper with him was already in place doing their job, even as her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest. That ride was not the one they had expected.

"You okay back there?" Hawke called to the medic.

"I'll let you know when my heart goes back where it's supposed to be," Jenny Franklin answered.

Hawke laughed. "Didn't do me much good either." He had clenched up every muscle he had fighting the cyclic and rotor pedals, he thought to himself it might be a week before he could actually relax enough to take a piss.

Once their patient and Doc were aboard, Hawke headed for the medical transport staging area. This patient was in too bad of condition to go straight on to the hospital, he was going to need to be stabilized first.

Hawke glanced back at Doc and saw that he looked like he was in pain. "Doc, you okay?"

The man didn't answer as he kept working on the patient with Jenny and Hawke tried again. "Jason, are you okay?"

"No. I thought I had just gotten a little banged up but I feel blood on my leg now," Doc admitted but he kept working on the patient, stopping the bleeding of a large cut on the man's head. It was throbbing in pain and the sting of sweat where he'd been cut was getting to him but the patient came first.

Jenny looked at Doc with concern and he waved it off. "Take care of him first then we'll see about me. He's worse off."

Hawke shook his head and increased the pace back to the staging area. His neck and shoulder muscles were screaming too but he ignored the pain as much as he could. He radioed ahead and Jenny gave the patient's status and then she wisely, despite the look Doc gave her, also relayed a possible leg injury on one of the medics.

Hawke landed the chopper as lightly as possible, despite how sore his shoulders were, trying to avoid bumping the patient around much more even though the morphine had kicked in. When he finally let go of the collective and cyclic, his shoulders slumped and he couldn't help the gasp of pain that he let out. Damn, that had been way, way too close for comfort. He was going to be sore for a few days that was for sure.

He pushed away the pain though and quickly set to helping Jenny with the patient, forcing Doc to stay in the chopper. "You wait here until I come back for you," Hawke said sternly and Doc started to argue.

"No arguing. You are hurt, hell I can see it in your eyes, Doc. You stay, I'll come back with a medic for you. You know the risks if it's broken and you are running on adrenaline," Hawke told him. Doc thought it was pretty ironic for Hawke to be giving him advice like that, mister I've dislocated my shoulder but I can still fly Airwolf until he passed out on him. Then again Hawke had changed over the last month and a half.

Another rather tall medic ran up about that time and Hawke, Jenny and the new guy whose shirt said his name was Clayton ran the litter to the makeshift hospital tent. When they came back, Jenny and the other medic started checking out Doc's leg.

Hawke just stood back watching as they ripped open his pant leg and got a good look at it. There was a nasty already darkening bruise all around his calf muscle and a nasty scrape like cut running down his shin so deep you could see bone. It was at least 2 inches wide and four inches long. It looked like the concrete had just peeled the skin down like he'd been skinned with a blade. The skin itself was still there, just in a wrinkled bloody mass at the base of his shin. In a word it was ugly.

Hawke winced as he looked at it. "That looks like it hurts like hell," Hawke murmured to his friend.

"Hmm, now that you mention it," Doc grimaced as they cleaned the wound and flinched hard. "Fuck, you using lava?"

Jenny tried not to laugh and shook her head. "Just sterile water to wash it out, it looks like you just pulled the skin right off but nothing appears obviously broken. You're going to need an x-ray to be sure, you're going to have one hell of a massive bruise," she explained.

The other medic agreed and he shifted to put Doc's arm around his shoulder. "Don't put any weight on it, just use me as a crutch, man," Clayton said as he helped Doc out of the chopper and onto the ground. "We got a portable x-ray in the tent, we'll check it out and if it is okay we'll get you wrapped up."

Hawke followed, rubbing at his shoulder and Jenny looked up at him. "You in pain too?"

"Just sore from fighting the controls," he admitted.

"That was some piloting back there. You pretty much just muscled that machine, didn't you?"

"As much as I could, it wasn't anything anyone could have expected, I was just trying to keep us from crashing," Hawke told the young woman. She was a cute little green-eyed blonde; her husband Mark was also a medic and working with Dom. They'd all met that morning and now it was already almost sunset.

"Well you done good," Jenny said with a grin and he laughed despite the fact it hurt to. Caitlin met him at the hospital tent.

"I saw them carry Doc in, what happened?" she asked with concern.

Jenny piped up before he could. "Could have been a whole lot worse if your man here wasn't such a good pilot!" She continued into the tent, knowing that Caitlin would probably want to talk to Hawke alone. She knew she'd be the same with Mark.

Caitlin's eyebrows rose and she asked what happened. He explained about the aftershock hitting while Doc was still on the ground. They'd felt it here too and she had landed right on her butt from the strength of the jolt. She had just come back from a run with her medic partner Jake and the aftershock had taken her legs right out from under her. Jake had ended up on his hands and knees from the force of it. "Oh my God, I'm so glad you all are okay…Doc will be okay, right?"

"Yeah, he took quite a bashing down there, that concrete got his leg pretty bad. It looks painful. He might be limping for a while," Hawke said as he put his arm around Caitlin and pulled her close but winced. He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I might be begging you for a back rub later. I'm not real sure how I kept that bird in the air, Cait."

"You can have all the back rubs you want," she said smiling.

He gave her an impish grin and said, "I wouldn't mind a front rub either."

Caitlin snorted and shook her head. "Yeah, you're just fine if you can think of that."

"I'm a man," he said simply. "I'd have to be dead not to think of "that"."

She continued to laugh even as her face was bright red and she led him back into the tent to go check on Doc.

Doc refused to take time off and worked the rest of the next few days with Hawke, despite the limp. They were both a little gimpy, Hawke's shoulders and neck were killing him by the end of each day and Doc was nearly unable to walk even though he had not used his leg as much as possible.

The rescue team they were with ended up calling their chopper the 'gimpy bird' but neither one of them missed a single emergency call on their shifts. At one point when one of the Army guys climbed into the co-pilots seat he laughed and commented about the smell of BenGay and Hawke told him he could always ride on the skids if he didn't like the smell.


	19. Chapter 19

After the excitement of the earthquake, the following week was spent making the final arrangements for the wedding at Crystal Lake.

Caitlin had family flying in for it along with two of her sorority sisters that were able to make it. In the few days leading up to the wedding, Caitlin, Hawke and Emily were already staying up at Max's Inn to prep everything and Dom, Hawke and Doc were ferrying guests up from the airport.

Cait was sitting at one of the tables in the Inn with Emily, helping wrap and tie ribbons onto the basket that Emily would carry with flower petals. In keeping with the snow theme, Caitlin had chosen a very light ice blue, a darker blue, white and silver as the colors for the wedding. The basket was looking beautiful with the pretty colors wrapping around the white wicker handle.

The pair looked up when Dom opened the door and led her parents inside. Caitlin set the basket aside and stood up to greet them. Her dad crossed the room quickly and picked her up off her feet in a huge bear hug. "Oh, I've missed you, Caity girl!" her dad boomed and she laughed as she hugged him.

"Missed you too, daddy," she said happily and then when he settled her on her feet again she hugged and kissed her mom and hugged her sister Erin and her husband.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Emily, she's well…she'll be my adopted daughter soon," she said with a smile and introducing the girl to them.

"Oh, you are prettier than your pictures!" Maggie said with a grin. "I'm Caitlin's mother so I'll be your grandma Maggie."

Emily smiled at the woman, she had gray streaked blonde hair and the man with her had red hair, obviously where Caitlin had gotten her red hair. "Nice to meet you," she said politely the way she practiced with Miss Meg.

Joseph O'Shannessy knelt since he was so tall and looked at the little girl. She had the most beautiful light blue eyes he'd ever seen and her shiny jet-black hair was up in pigtails. "And I'll be your grandpa, I guess you can call me Grandpa Joe since you've already got a Grandpa Dom," he told the little girl.

She smiled and nodded. "Okay," she said looking up at Caitlin.

"Where's String?" Cait asked Dom.

"He's on his way, he has your brother Patrick and his wife and your sister Nancy with him," Dom explained. Her brother Brian wasn't going to make the wedding, he was stationed in Germany right now and unable to come home for the wedding.

"Okay, well why don't you take off your coats and join us? We've got coffee on if you want some. Emily and I were just decorating her basket for the wedding," Caitlin explained. Maggie joined them at the table along with Erin as the men settled at another table next to them. Dom went and got himself a cup of coffee and then saw Max come in with some flowers.

"Howdy, Max, you need a hand with those?" Dom said quickly setting his cup down to help her.

"Oh, thanks, Dom," she said as he helped her set the flowers on the bar. "Oh, Cait, I see your family made it."

"Part of it anyway, Max, I'd like to introduce you to my folks, Maggie and Joseph O'Shannessy and my sister Erin and her husband Derek Stevens," Caitlin said. "This is Maxine Dayton, she runs the Inn here and is a good friend."

They all said their hello's and Maggie went with Erin to the bar to look at the flowers that Max had brought. "Are these for the decorations?"

"Yes, shades of blue and white. My bouquet will be the same flowers except it will also have some silver and white snowflake crystals that the florist is making special for it. My dress has crystals on it too. A good friend who does costumes for some of the movies we've done stunts for is making my dress," Caitlin explained.

"Making it? Will it be ready by the weekend?" Maggie asked worriedly.

"Yes, I tried it on yesterday, it fits perfectly and all she had left to do was a few details and she included a little cloak to keep me warm too. It is really beautiful, mom. It isn't entirely white, the bottom of the dress blends from white to a very light blue so it will stand out against the white snow. Since she does this sort of thing for movies, she didn't want the dress to get lost in the snow for the photos, especially since it will be somewhat dark inside where we are holding the ceremony. This way my dress picks up the light and keeps from being so much white that it gets lost and I end up looking like a floating head or something," Caitlin explained with a laugh.

"Wow, it sounds beautiful, Cait," Erin said impressed with what her sister had come up with for her unique wedding. It was certainly different but it suited her younger sister well.

"I guess I'm just gona have to trust you, dear," Caitlin's mother said with a sigh. It sounded lovely but it sure wasn't what she would have picked.

"Isla should be here tomorrow evening with the finished dress, along with Emily's dress and your dress, Erin," Caitlin promised.

Just then they heard another helicopter arrive and Caitlin headed for the door.

Hawke had just arrived with the rest of her family and she met him on the porch. She gave him a welcoming kiss and then started hugging and kissing her family.

"Mom and dad are already inside. Come on, I can't wait to introduce you to Emily," Caitlin said happily as Hawke took her hand in his and the group headed inside.

This would be the first time Hawke met her parents in person too and Caitlin had no idea how nervous Hawke actually was.

"Everyone, this is Stringfellow Hawke, my fiancé," Caitlin announced.

Joseph gave the young man the once over as the pilot removed his sunglasses. He looked like a clean cut young man. He knew the man had a solid job, a home and was responsible enough to be guardian to a young child and had assured him on the phone that he loved Caitlin.

"Nice to finally meet you in person, String," Joseph said offering his hand. He was a big man and stood several inches taller than his future son-in-law.

"Nice to meet you too, sir," Hawke said politely shaking the man's hand. Maggie came over then to greet him and offered him a hug.

"Oh, you are a handsome one, even more than your picture," she said with a grin and smiled wider when Hawke actually blushed a little.

Caitlin laughed and introduced him to the rest of her family and introduced Dom and Max to them all and then Emily.

Emily was a little overwhelmed by how many people were there, Caitlin sure had a lot of family! She wasn't sure she'd remember everyone's names but she would try.

"Doc will be up soon with Minh and Le and your friends. Tracy's plane was delayed a little so he's still at the airport," Hawke explained.

"Oh, yeah that flight from Chicago we thought that might happen," Caitlin said with a sigh.

"Well, let's get everyone settled."

They spent the next half hour helping Max and her small staff get everyone shown to their rooms and Hawke and Dom helped get the luggage in from the helicopters.

By the afternoon, Doc had arrived with the last of the guests that were staying at the Inn. He was getting around with a limp but seemed to be doing okay since his accident during the earthquake. They had all gathered for a late lunch and Joseph asked the young man about his limp.

He explained about their helping with the earthquake and how he'd gotten hurt. Doc went on to say that if Hawke hadn't been such a good pilot that it might have been even worse. Hawke had seemed embarrassed by the compliments and just shook his head. "It was just a matter of doing what we had to do is all," he said simply.

"Your neck and shoulders hurt for a week afterwards, String. You fought hard to keep that helicopter steady after that wall hit the basket and ropes," Doc told him.

Joseph eyed the young man who was about to marry his daughter and his estimation of the young man went up just a bit. Willing to help others, willing to do what he had to do and not be arrogant about it even when others praised him…that went a long way proving he was a good man. Maybe Caity had chosen well.

"Well, you're the one who really got hurt. No offense, Doc but I'll take a sore neck over that bum leg any day. That looked horrible," Hawke said over his cup of coffee.

"Risks you take on the ground for a medic though," Doc shrugged. "We all knew what we were getting into. I'm just glad that so few lost their lives. That was a powerful earthquake to have such a low death toll."

"We watched it on the news. Caity called and told us that Santini Air was helping with the supplies and search and rescue. Real nice of you to do that, Dom," Joseph said.

"Aww, none of us can sit still when something like that happens. Good pilots are always needed in things like that. We've covered a few floods, hurricane aftermath and things like that. Good Karma I guess," Dom said with a jovial laugh.

"What's Karma?" Emily asked from her spot next to Le, he looked up curiously too.

"It means that if you do good deeds that good will come back to you, if you do bad things then bad things will come back to you," Caitlin explained.

"Like when someone says what goes around comes around?" Le asked.

Minh laughed and nodded. "Exactly."

"So, are there more guests coming for the wedding?" Maggie asked curiously.

"A few more," Hawke said. "Our friends Michael and Marella and Bobby Phelps and his dad Robert will also be here. Meg who runs the day care where Emily attends will also be here for the wedding," Hawke explained.

Caitlin got up to get a refill on her coffee and her two girlfriends Cindy and Tracy followed her. "Isn't he the pilot that helped us?"

"Yeah, he's the one," Caitlin confirmed with a smile.

"Wow, Caitlin, you're marrying a hero," Tracy said with a laugh and Caitlin thought that her friend really had no idea.

"I know he's my hero. Now don't get me wrong, he can be a handful sometimes but I couldn't love him any more than I do. He has been my best friend for two years now and I couldn't imagine sharing the rest of my life with anyone else," Caitlin said dreamily.

"Oh, that sounds so romantic. He sure is a looker too," Cindy added and the three of them giggled a little. "I know you are adopting Emily but do you two plan to have some of your own?"

"Yeah, we have talked about it a lot actually. We've decided we'd like three of our own eventually," Caitlin explained. "He has actually already drawn up blueprints to expand the cabin with bedrooms for the kids and stuff."

"Oh, I bet you two will make some real pretty babies together!" Tracy added and Caitlin blushed.

Hawke looked over to where Caitlin and her friends were and wondered what they had said that made her blush. Erin saw his gaze and laughed. "She looks like she could use some saving."

"Hmm, I think you're right," Hawke said getting up and heading toward Caitlin.

"How are you ladies doing? I haven't seen you since that mess with the reunion," Hawke said.

"Oh, we're great, giving the bride to be a hard time of course," Tracy admitted and Hawke grinned.

"And you call yourselves her friends?" he teased and they both laughed and Caitlin slipped her arm around his waist and rested her hand on his chest.

"They are worse than my mother, pestering me about babies already," she admitted to see his reaction.

"Well, we'll have to see what we can do about that in the next few months then," Hawke said with a wicked grin. Caitlin couldn't stop smiling.

Tracy laughed and shook her head. "She said you'd been talking about it but I never can really believe it when a man actually admits he wants kids. I guess I'm always meeting the wrong kind of men."

"Took me a while, hell I'm 36, when I was Cait's age I'd have run for the hills if a woman hinted at wanting kids," Hawke admitted.

"Note to self, date older men," Tracy said aloud and they all laughed.

Meanwhile, Joseph was talking to Dom, sort of picking his brain about his boy to be honest. "You know, Cait's told us a lot about String but you raised him. What sort of folks were his parents?"

"The best sort," Dom said after taking a sip of his coffee. "His dad and I were best buddies all through World War II and Korea. His mother was a sweetheart. They were good people and passed away far too young. String was, well, he was a pretty sensitive kid, he was really devastated by it, he was only 10 at the time so it was even harder on him than it was on Sinjin. I always thought ten was a tough age, you aren't a teenager yet but you aren't a little bitty kid, kinda like Le. He seems so grown up one minute and the next he's playing tag with Emily. It is hard for any kid that age and then losing your parents. Especially in an accident right in front of you. It changes a person. String became really serious and protective of those he cares about. He may have been the younger brother but he was just as protective of Sinjin as Sinj was of him. I couldn't be more proud of the man that String grew up to be. I know it is sort of hard to believe I'd say anything bad about him but he really is a good and decent man. I'd probably have put my boot up his ass if he weren't ya know?" Dom explained.

Joseph laughed and thought about how he was with his own sons. "I know what you mean, I love my sons and know they have their faults but they are good men too. And like you if they weren't I'd have whipped 'em into shape," Joseph agreed. "He does seem to really care about my Caity."

"He does. I think he fell in love with her the first time he saw her but he just wouldn't get involved with her at first. First, he said she was too young, he tried to use that excuse for a while," Dom explained.

"Caity told us about his feeling of being cursed to lose those he loved the most, she said he finally decided that wasn't true but it took him a while. Seems like he held off from dating her because he was scared of her getting hurt," Joseph said.

"That's exactly what it was. That and Cait does get into her fair share of trouble," Dom said with a laugh.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Joseph said with a heavy sigh. "That girl has given me 90% of the gray hairs I have now."

Dom laughed and pointed to his hair, "You see how white mine is. But you see, every time she's gotten in trouble since she came to California, String has been there to get her out of it too. He well…we did search and rescue when her plane went down that time. He's who found the plane. We were also there when she was at that reunion. We came and the police let String fly the helicopter to the airport. He was who got there first and was able to get Caitlin and her pregnant friend back safely. So, no matter what Cait gets herself into, he's always going to be there to take care of her."

Joseph hadn't known those things, Caitlin hadn't mentioned that String was the one who found the plane nor did she mention he was the pilot who helped rescue her and the other women. That right there told him to relax, this young man would always be there for his little girl.

"Thank you, Dom for telling me these things. It sure sets my mind at ease," he explained.


	20. Chapter 20

The wedding was planned to take place on Friday night, the last night of the full moon. The moon rise was to be just before 7 pm so they scheduled the wedding to begin at 7:30. Most of the guests didn't understand the significance but it was something the couple had done to make little Emily happy. She was a part of this too and Caitlin loved the idea of giving the little girl a bit of a fairytale after all she had gone through. Hawke had even been glad to do it, he just wanted to marry Caitlin and make their family official, but if this made Emily feel more a part of their marriage then he'd do it happily.

Having the wedding in the snow itself was significant to both Caitlin and Hawke, that snowy night had been the turning point for their relationship. Emily had brought them together more quickly than they would have on their own, that much was certain. But it was right too, he didn't have a single doubt that marrying Cait and adopting Emily was exactly what he needed to do. Stringfellow Hawke always trusted his gut and his gut was telling him this was right. His life was shaping up much differently than it had been but this time he was ready to face it more than ever before.

Caitlin was ensconced in a room with her mother and sisters and friends to try on the dress that Isla Declan had brought to her. The wedding was tonight and she oddly didn't feel a bit nervous. Excited, yes but not nervous. She had known since the moment she laid eyes on him that Stringfellow Hawke was the man for her. So, she had waited for him and it was well worth the wait.

Isla removed the dress from the garment bag and hung it on the bathroom door. The moment she did she heard gasps from the other women in the room. She could tell they were impressed and as a dress designer it made her feel proud.

Caitlin walked to the dress and put her fingers on the soft silky material. "Oh, Isla, it's even more beautiful than it was when I tried it on last. You outdid yourself on these details," Caitlin said with tears in her eyes. It was gorgeous. The base of the dress was a soft silk material, white from the tight-fitting bodice with a sweetheart neckline that flared into a skirt of gathered silk that slowly turned a lovely shade of light ice blue to the small train. Over the dress was a see thru material studded with tiny crystals scattered all over that formed snowflakes. The dress had long sleeves to protect her arms during the outdoor ceremony that led down to points over the back of her hands. The same blue color effect faded from elbows to hands and it was gorgeous.

"I also made this for the walk back to the Inn afterwards so you don't get too cold," Isla said as she opened another garment bag and held up a cape of such pale blue you could almost believe it was white until you saw the crisp white fur trim. It was fake fur of course but was soft and beautiful.

"Oh, my, that is gorgeous too," Caitlin said smiling happily.

"I thought it would be nice if perhaps Hawke put it on you for the walk back down the aisle after your announced as married. Sort of a symbol of how he's always protecting you. That way you can stay warm, especially if family and friends want to stop you on your way out," Isla explained. She'd done enough real and movie weddings to know the drill.

Caitlin's mother Maggie had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry if I ever doubted your ideas for this wedding. You are going to be a beautiful bride," Maggie said softly to her daughter.

There was a knock at the door and it slowly opened, "Is there room for one more in here?" Marella asked, she and Michael had just arrived.

"Of course, though…not by much!" Cait said with a laugh as she went to hug Marella. "You are just in time to see the dress. Isla did a wonderful job!"

"Oh, Caitlin, it's beautiful!" Marella said as she spotted the dress hanging on the door. "It is going to look so perfect on you."

"Well, I also have your bridesmaid dress and Emily's dress too," Isla said as she walked over to the bed where those garment bags were.

"You've been busy!" Erin said with a laugh.

"Well, the bridesmaid dress is one of my stock dresses in your size Erin but I just had it dyed and added some of the snowflake details to it. Emily's dress was actually a design I did for a movie that ended up being changed but I already had it almost finished so I just made the alterations to her size and dyed it to match. It is a fairy princess dress because that was what the dress for the movie was. I think she'll love all the tulle in the skirt," Isla explained.

She opened the bridesmaid dress first and Erin said it was the prettiest bridesmaid dress she'd ever seen. "They always seem to be so frumpy or weird colors, this is gorgeous," she whispered.

"Thank you. I can always do some alterations to it after so you can use it as a cocktail dress too," Isla said smiling happily. She loved her work.

"And this is little Emily's dress," she said proudly as she unveiled the pretty little girl's dress. It was perfect.

"She's never going to want to take it off!" Caitlin said with a laugh. "All she needs is a wand and she'd be in fairytale heaven!"

All the women laughed and agreed.

"Well, we should all get out of here except for Erin, Maggie, Isla and Cait and send in Emily so you all can get dressed," Marella said sensibly. The room was far too crowded for them all to remain and they all needed to dress for the wedding as guests.

Everyone hugged and kissed Caitlin before they left and Emily came in with Maxine. "Here's your princess," Max said as she brought the little girl in. She'd already done her hair and the child looked adorable. Max had put the little girl's hair up with little Shirley Temple style ringlets hanging down framing her face. Her hair was clasped with a pretty blue bow that matched the dress color and had a glittery silver snowflake in the center. She was wearing her little pearl earrings and even in her bathrobe the little girl looked adorable.

"Oh, Max you did a great job on her hair. Look at those ringlets! You are going to love your dress," Caitlin told the little girl.

Maggie hugged the child and told her she was going to be a perfect flower girl.

Meanwhile, Hawke and his friends were getting ready. He was fiddling with his tie and Michael stepped up to help square up the knot. Hawke had gotten lucky, he wasn't having to wear a tuxedo but he couldn't get out of the tie. Caitlin had instead of a tux, just chosen he wear a navy-blue suit, a nicely tailored one with a waistcoat and a shiny ice blue tie. It seemed to bring out the man's blue eyes more and Michael thought his friend looked quite striking all dressed up like this. Hawke was a handsome guy but the look on his face today made him look even more so, he was happy, truly happy.

Dom stepped out of the bathroom with his suit on as well that matched Hawke's with a darker blue tie. "I'm sure glad Caitlin didn't pick penguin suits, I like this much better, never cared for bow ties," Dom said as he fixed the handkerchief in his pocket.

Le was in the corner trying to fix his tie but he couldn't get it. Finally, he let out a big sigh and Hawke grinned at him. "Need a hand?"

"Yeah, I suck at these things, Aunt Minh always just gets me clip ons," he said frowning.

Dom laughed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Come here, son. I'll fix it," Dom said kindly and Le went up to the older man. Doc was grinning at them from his position by the wall. His job was to pin on the boutonnieres that Max had sent him in with.

Le's suit matched Dom's with the same color tie. He was to walk Emily out with her flower basket. Hawke had wanted his nephew to be a part of the wedding. Dom would stand as his best man.

Dom noticed the little boy's hands were shaking and took them in his. "You nervous, kid?"

"Little bit. Keep worrying about walking too fast or tripping or something silly," Le admitted.

"Aww, you'll be fine. You just help little Emily, I'm sure she's far more nervous than you are and she's got to throw those flowers down so you just keep her moving down the aisle is all," Dom said reassuringly to the young boy. The relieved look the boy gave him reminded him so much of Sinjin in that moment that Dom felt his throat tighten.

Hawke couldn't help the warm feeling that stole over him as he looked around the room, yes someone very important was still missing but the men in this room were family to him. Just then there was a knock at the door and Joseph O'Shannessy entered. He too was in a matching get up to Dom and Le. "The ladies are getting ready, I just came to get my boutonniere. Max said you had them in here," the man told them and Doc pushed off from the wall and picked up one of them from the dresser.

"Yep, got it right here," he said as he went over to the man and pinned it on his lapel. "You see Cait yet?" he asked curiously.

"Nope, they wouldn't let me in the room. I know the groom isn't supposed to see the bride before the wedding but I didn't know they were keeping out all men," Joseph laughed.

"They might not have all been dressed yet," Michael said reasonably. "You'll still get to see your daughter first of all of us."

"Maggie came out with tears in her eyes so I'm sure she looks gorgeous," the man admitted. "Well, String, this is it. You nervous?"

"Actually, not at all but I am excited. I just can't wait to put my grandmother's ring on her finger," he admitted.

Joseph smiled and walked over to Hawke and drew him into a fatherly one-armed hug. "Welcome to the family, String."

The large Texan then turned and headed to the door and Michael followed him. "See you soon," Michael said as he left.

Doc finished putting the boutonnieres on Hawke, Dom and Le's lapels and waved to them as he left the room. "I'm off to check on the lights and music."

Dom looked up at Hawke. "You ready?"

"More than ready," Hawke admitted with a boyish grin.

Dom stood and led Le to the girl's room. He knocked and Erin answered. "Le's ready," he told her.

"Oh, don't you both look handsome. Come on in," Erin invited. Joseph was already inside hugging Caitlin and when Dom saw her his jaw nearly unhinged. Cait had always been a cute little thing but she was absolutely radiant.

"You are going to knock String's socks off," he said as he walked in and gave the bride to be a kiss and hug.

Isla was just pinning the veil in place behind her.

"Thanks, Dom. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much but I can't stop!" she laughed.

"I've not seen String so happy since he was a child, Cait. You've made me one happy old man bringing my happy boy back to me you know?" Dom said seriously and Joseph took pause at that. He knew that Hawke had lost his parents young and that Dom had raised him like his own son. His words now made even the last tendrils of worry he had about their quick marriage dissipate.

Max poked her head in the door. "It's time guys."

Isla and Joseph helped Caitlin get her veil in place and then handed her the bouquet. Erin picked up hers and Emily grabbed her basket of flower petals. Le took her arm and placed it correctly in his and Dom opened the door. The kids went out first and he followed to get in his place with Hawke.

Erin gave her sister a happy grin and a thumbs up as she exited behind them to wait in her place.

"Well, here we go," Caitlin said and looked up at her dad.

"I want to say that I did have some reservations about how quick you were marrying this man but I see now that I needn't worry. He'll make a fine husband for you, Caity," Joseph said to his daughter.

"Oh, you don't know how much that means to me, daddy," she whispered to him as they exited the room to get ready to take their place to wait on the wedding march cue.

As they stood at the wedding arch inside the canopy of trees that Doc and the others had lit with fairy lights, Dom made sure one last time that the ring was in his pocket. The bluish white lighting glinting off the snow looked like glitter and the entire area was much warmer than it should be with all the snow. The path to the wedding arch had a light blue runner that was flanked by snow that the men had shoveled carefully in place to make it look like it belonged there. The seats for their guests had the same type of runner for the guests to stay out of the snow but feel as if it were part of it. Small outdoor heaters helped keep the area warmer than the outdoor temperature. There were candelabras lit all around and there were small lights around that helped give enough light to see everything without it looking too artificial at the same time. Doc and Maxine had done a wonderful job. Dom bet if they shared any photos of the decorations that the pair would end up with more winter weddings in the future.

String was standing silently beside him, his hand clasped over his wrist as he waited. Suddenly when the music changed and Le and Emily appeared, String's face split into an almost radiant smile at the two children.

Emily scattered flower petals as Le led her down the aisle. The little girl was concentrating so hard on her job that it was a good thing they decided to give Le the job of keeping her moving forward. The little girl looked like a fairy princess, just like she had wanted to be. Her little dress was just adorable on her and Hawke thought he would have to say another thank you to Isla for the work she had done on such short notice.

As they got halfway down the aisle, Hawke looked up and saw Erin coming toward them in a pretty dress. Hawke had been to a few weddings in his life and he'd never seen a bridesmaid look so pretty. Most of the time the dresses were rather well…they were something else but Cait and Isla had picked something very tasteful. After seeing Emily and Erin though it made him wonder just how perfect Caitlin would look.

When the children joined them, Emily going to stand by herself to wait on Erin and Le joining he and Dom, Hawke took a deep breath. When Erin reached the halfway point, the music changed subtly and Hawke gasped as he caught sight of Caitlin and Joseph. His heart was pounding so loud in his ears that he could barely hear the music. She was a vision. Just like that red dress that she'd worn for him this one blew his mind. Caitlin was the most beautiful bride he'd ever seen, he wished the veil didn't hide her so much but he could see her smile. Her dress sparkled in the lighting as if it were alive. It wasn't a big puffy dress like a lot of women were wearing these days. Instead it fit her body closely to her waist and only flared slightly over her hips and down. The white fading to blue was a perfect fit for the setting and he couldn't have imagined his bride to be more radiantly beautiful than this. Max had also done a beautiful job on the flowers to match the setting. The bouquet was large and had ribbons trailing from it, that fluttered lightly. When they finally reached him, Hawke was anxious to take Caitlin's hands in his when Joseph announced that he and her mother were giving their daughter to him.

Hawke swallowed hard and nodded to his father-in-law and took Caitlin's hand in his. Her fingertips were cold and he rubbed his thumb over them as he smiled at her. They turned to face one another as the judge began the ceremony. Hawke was in such a daze looking at this woman who had stolen his heart that he was almost on autopilot as he recited his vows. When she handed her bouquet to Erin as they exchanged rings, Hawke couldn't believe his luck at finding a woman who would put up with him as long as she had.

When the judge said, you may now kiss your bride, Hawke had smiled happily and lifted her veil. "I love you, Caitlin Hawke," he whispered, the first time he was able to use her new name. Their kiss was slow and loving and probably a bit longer than was tasteful but he didn't care. Their family cheered when they broke apart and turned to face them. Erin handed the bouquet back to Caitlin and adjusted her veil a little bit before the judge announced them as Mr. and Mrs. Stringfellow and Caitlin Hawke. It was important to String that her name be said as well and he could tell it surprised Cait a little. They held steady for a few moments, allowing the photographer to take a few pictures and then Dom handed him something. It was a cape to put around Caitlin's shoulders. He turned and carefully placed it, making sure not to catch the veil in it as he clasped it at her throat. He kissed her again before he stepped back and took her arm in his. They made the return trip to the Inn slowly, family and friends stopping them along the way as they went to the reception.

Caitlin's heart was soaring it seemed, she was happier than she ever could imagine being as her husband, *her husband* led her back to the Inn for the reception.

After the wedding and reception, Emily would be staying with Dom part of the week and Minh and Le part of the week while Hawke and Caitlin were on their short seven-day honeymoon. They would return the following Saturday morning.

Hawke had planned the honeymoon with Michael's help. They would be staying at a secluded beach house on the Hawaiian Island of Lanai. The island was one of the lesser touristy islands but still beautiful. The house had already been fully stocked with food so all they had to do was fly there. It had access to a private beach as well. Dom and Michael had arranged a private jet for them so they could avoid traveling commercial too.

Hawke had of course insisted they could fly themselves on the jet and Michael had relented. He was more than willing to provide a pilot and let them have more time together but Hawke convinced him that they were both pilots, they could certainly fly themselves and enjoy doing so.

"So where is this again?" Caitlin asked as she settled into the co-pilot's seat next to Hawke. "I've never heard of this island."

"It isn't as popular as the larger islands, it is one of the smaller ones, more secluded, less tourists," Hawke explained. "We have a private beach to ourselves a nice beach house and there are some good restaurants nearby. There is some great hiking or horseback riding too. I have to admit I picked it because I thought it might be sorta fun to visit what they call the Garden of the Gods since we keep the Lady at the Valley of the Gods, I kinda thought the symmetry was a little funny," Hawke explained.

Caitlin laughed. "That does sound interesting actually and you know I am always up for horseback riding," Cait said happily. "What will the weather in January be anyway?"

"Pretty much 76 on average during the day and around 65 for an average at night. So pretty comfortable a little humid but that's to be expected, the water will be about the same temperature so it shouldn't be bad for a swim at least during the daylight hours, night might be a little chilly," Hawke explained as he adjusted their course just a little.

"Wow, you really researched this didn't you?" Caitlin asked, impressed with how through Hawke had been.

"It was important to me that we find just the right place to spend our honeymoon. Something we'd both enjoy," Hawke said simply. Caitlin knew that the big islands would be too crowded for Hawke to be comfortable but he was making sure she still got the Hawaiian experience.

"I knew I married a smart man," Caitlin said leaning over to plant a sweet kiss on his cheek.

Once they finally landed and picked up the Jeep that Hawke had arranged for they went to the beach house. When they got to the door, Hawke stopped Cait and scooped her into his arms.

"Seriously?" she giggled.

"It's tradition, isn't it?" he said with a laugh.

"We aren't exactly that traditional of a couple," Caitlin teased.

"Humor me," Hawke said with a grin and she just wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.

"Humoring then," she answered as he carried her across the threshold and into the beautifully decorated house.

"Wow, this is nice," Hawke said, even surprised himself at how nicely appointed the house was. Michael had some friend who'd given them this for the week.

He set Caitlin back on her feet and took off his sunglasses to look around a bit more. "What a gorgeous view," Caitlin said as she looked at the windows that wrapped around the entire living area that faced the beach.

Hawke was looking at her as she looked out the windows at the pretty beach scene and he just simply answered, "Yeah," though he meant more than just the beach was gorgeous. Caitlin was wearing a pretty yellow sundress and he walked up behind her and slid an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him and dropping a kiss onto her shoulder.

"Hmm," she hummed in enjoyment. His body was warm and firm against hers and his lips on her skin made goosebumps form on her arms. "I love when you hold me like this, ya' know?"

"That's good because I love holding you," he whispered and kissed a little higher on her neck. She giggled a little, she was a bit ticklish on that spot and he nipped at her lightly with his teeth.

"I have a feeling we won't be going exploring today," she murmured as her hand came up to thread into his hair.

"I plan on doing plenty of exploring," Hawke said with a mischievous grin against her warm skin. Caitlin's laughter was soon drowned out with a deep kiss as he turned her to face him.


	21. Chapter 21

Back at home in California, Dom and Emily were on their way to meet with Meg for a late lunch. He'd let the little girl sleep in and they had a late breakfast too so everything was a bit off today. She'd stayed up well past her bedtime at the wedding the night before.

"Grandpa Dom, are mommy and daddy already in Hawaii?" the little girl asked, not quite mangling Hawaii but close.

"They should have landed a little bit ago, princess. They said they'd call this evening before bedtime for you," Dom explained as he drove.

"I hope they have fun on their trip, mommy looked so pretty last night," she said happily.

"She really did, and so did you, princess. Was it what you hoped it would be like?" Dom asked, knowing the couple had included the little girl in their plans.

"It was better! I had fun dancing too," Emily said with a big grin. She'd gotten to dance with grandpa Dom and Joe as well as her uncles and her dad and even Le danced with her. He was the easiest to dance with because he wasn't so much bigger than her. "I think even Le had fun dancing."

"I'm sure he did. You looked very sweet when you danced with String," Dom said as he remembered that String had just picked the girl up and danced with her in his arms that way. It had been adorable. He was thankful that the photographer and Doc both had gotten pictures of that.

"Mommy and daddy looked beautiful when they danced though," Emily said remembering just how pretty her parents had looked as they danced. They had kissed often too and even though she and Le made faces at each other about it they were both glad that they loved each other so much.

"I've never seen them look happier, that's for sure," Dom said with a smile as he remembered his foster son and the girl who he thought of as a daughter dancing the night before. He may have grumbled about the snow at first but it was probably the most beautiful and unique wedding he'd ever been a part of.

They arrived at the restaurant to meet Meg and Emily ran to her teacher to give her a big hug as soon as she saw her. Meg laughed and hugged the exuberant little girl in return and gave Dom a kiss on the cheek. "You look happy today, Dom," Meg said with a knowing smile.

"I am, Meg. I'm very happy," he admitted as he opened the door and escorted the two ladies in.

The last few months had been busy for Michael, Marella, Karen and their new team and they hoped to have everything set for when Hawke and Caitlin made it back from Hawaii.

Airwolf was to start upgrades the Monday after they returned. Karen was planning some pretty major overhauls to the helicopter including new graphics processing that was at the cutting edge of computer tech and setting up a connection machine for Airwolf. It would be useful for artificial intelligence processing for the Lady but also computational science needed for some of the research they were going to be doing now. Karen and her team was also upgrading the operating system for the entire operation to a new version which she was sure Dom and Cait would love.

As she was setting up the information in the computer she grinned when she entered Secondary Pilot/Engineer Caitlin Hawke. Karen was happy for String finally finding someone to really settle down with. From what she understood, the man was happy and as his friend and as someone who really respected the pilot she was happy for him.

Michael too was thoroughly enjoying setting up the new operation and Marella and he were no longer dancing around their feelings either. The night of Hawke and Cait's wedding had given him the prompt to finally talk to Marella about his true feelings. Now that they were no longer tied to the FIRM and no longer would he have to send her into dangerous situations he felt it would be easier for them to be involved.

Michael was a very happy man who was not bothered at all working the weekend to get things finalized at their new location. They were just down the street from Santini Air and he couldn't wait to surprise the old codger with that little secret. He'd told them they'd be here at the airport but hadn't told them just how close. He felt it was the right thing though, keeping everything close, everything where he could finally make sure his people were safe. Plus, with the addition of children to the mix he figured that the new facility being close to the hanger was a good thing in that regard too. He couldn't very well send the team off on any mission without someone to watch over at least Emily if not both she and Le if it came down to it.

Hawke had also told him that he and Caitlin were already discussing having their own children so it just made sense to have Marella set up a child friendly play area and hire someone trusted to work in it. That would be the hardest part of this little plan, Caitlin and especially Hawke won't trust just anyone to watch their daughter or any other little ones that come along. Then there was his relationship with Marella, if it progressed the way he hoped, they might need use of a day care facility too one day plus other employees could use it.

So, a former deputy director of the FIRM, now the director of special projects for NRO with the public name Tala Star Avionics, a man charged with making upgrades to a multi-billion-dollar helicopter and creating a whole new division was being stumped by who to hire as a day care teacher.

Michael grinned as he looked at the letterhead on his desk. Tala Star Avionics. He thought it was rather an ingenious name, another hiding in plain sight as Hawke had said. Tala was the Sioux name for wolf. Star because it was nice to keep a part of the original Red Star name though mostly it was because the NRO generally used satellites. Tala Star and Santini Air were about to become business partners at least that was what it would seem.

Michael picked up his cane and decided to go for a short walk. He had a smirk on his face when he entered the hanger and Dom looked up from whatever part he was working on and then did a double take. "I didn't hear your car," Dom said, thinking he really must have been concentrating on his work.

"I didn't bring my car," Michael answered and leaned against the desk that Hawke often used.

Dom took his glasses off the end of his nose and stared at the other man. "Well if you didn't bring your car and I know you didn't fly in…how the hell did you get here?"

"I walked," Michael answered.

"You walked?" Dom asked. "Okay, you said your new digs were going to be close, how freakin' close are we talking?"

"Just about a block and a half away," Michael said with a grin.

"A block and a half? You mean that new Tala something er other is it?" Dom asked incredulously.

"Tala Star Avionics…we'll be close enough to walk if need be and Marella and I are working on a special little project for Hawke and Caitlin, we don't want them to have to worry about Emily or even Le if they need a place for the kids if all three of you are busy. I just can't seem to figure out the best person to hire to oversee it. Thought maybe you might have some idea on someone trustworthy, good with kids and can keep secrets," Michael said with a shrug.

"You mean you're asking *me* for a recommendation? That's a first," Dom said taking off his cap and scratching his head. He looked back at the other man dressed rather casually in dark slacks and a grey sweater. He still wasn't used to seeing Michael in anything but all white. It was a bit disconcerting sometimes.

"Well? Do you have any ideas? Teachers of small children aren't exactly my forte," Michael admitted.

"I run an air service, it isn't exactly crawling with kids until recently," Dom said with a laugh. "Meg would be my first notion but she's happy running her own place, she might know someone and of course there is Sister Marguerite."

"A nun?" Michael asked a little unsure about that.

"Not her specifically no, but I bet she can help me come up with a few possible people to interview," Dom said wiping his hands on a rag.

"Well, I suppose they'd be trustworthy if suggested by Meg or a nun," Michael said with a shrug.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't want to leave Emily or Le with just anyone and I know Hawke will be wary of anyone we suggest," Dom said as he walked over and got a cup of coffee. "You wanna cup?"

"Sure," Michael said joining the other man. "Besides we need to have a talk about business, I believe that Santini Air and Tala Star Avionics are going to be developing a business partnership so that things don't look unusual with our people and yours going back and forth between the two places."

"Oh, I see. That makes sense and gives just the right cover I'm guessing. So what sort of partnership are we talking, at least publicly?" Dom asked.

"I figure the simplest will be your pilots are testing our equipment. We do tech and you guys test the tech, simple, straightforward and basically the truth in the long run anyway," Michael said and then took a sip of coffee.

"Works for me, so if anyone asks, that's the cover story," Dom answered and kicked back in his chair. He liked it, simple and keeps it easy to answer anyone and they wouldn't even be lying. Dom preferred that really. Easier to remember when it's the truth.

"Where is the little munchkin anyway?" Michael asked.

"Emily is at Meg's daycare today. She goes there a couple times a week. She made some really good friends right before Christmas when the kids came here to tour the hanger. It is good for her too, Cait was worried about the child not having friends of her own age, she was so often around adults now," Dom explained.

"Makes sense. Hard to believe how quickly Hawke and Caitlin have taken to being parents to that little girl. She's certainly changed all of our worlds for the better," Michael said thinking that so much good had happened for the Airwolf team since little Emily's tragic beginnings with them.

"She has at that. I don't think I've ever seen String this happy, not since before his folks died to be honest. Between Cait and Emily and even Le, they have that boy on cloud nine," Dom told him and Michael nodded in agreement.

"Too true. Well, I'm going to leave a few of these cards with you so you can give them to Meg and Sister Margarite in case they know of someone to send over to interview. I will leave final choices on who we pick to Cait and Hawke though. I'll let you get back to work now, if you need me, you can reach me at that number or just take a short walk down the road," Michael told him and Dom gave him a little mock salute with the cards.

In Hawaii, it was the next to last day of Hawke and Caitlin's honeymoon and they had spent the last five days exploring the island, they went horseback riding and had visited the Garden of the Gods. They'd swam in the ocean, made love practically every place in the house including the porch and had relaxed. They both missed Emily terribly though and had called each night at bedtime to talk to the girl. Caitlin even read her bedtime stories over the phone which Hawke thought was adorable.

They also called Le each evening as well wanting to check up on the boy and check in with Minh as well. She was enjoying her job at the 94th and they had spent the evening with Dom and Emily last night.

This morning the newlyweds were still in bed, it was almost noon but they hadn't wanted to get up yet. They'd be flying home in less than 30 hours and wanted to spend as much time just enjoying one another as they could.

When Hawke woke this morning, it had been to soft kisses, one on his shoulder, his ribs, down lower on his side and when he opened his eyes it dawned on him that Caitlin was cataloging his scars.

"Whatcha' doin'?" Hawke asked her and she looked up from the curtain of her hair and smiled at him.

"Where did you get all these?" she asked about his scars. He had a few wounds in his life that had left their mark.

"Some from the war, some from the time I worked for the FIRM after it, surprisingly enough most are all from before Airwolf. Heck a few are from when I was a kid. The one on my leg I got surfing," Hawke explained.

"Where did you get this one?" she asked about a scar on his hand.

"That one was just an accident working on an engine, hand slipped and jammed a tension rod into it," he explained and smiled when she kissed it. "Shoulder was in 'Nam, same with the one on my ribs and side from shrapnel a second time in 'Nam, the marks on my upper back are from when I was a POW," he explained.

Caitlin shook her head and leaned down to kiss him tenderly and he returned the kiss. It was slow and loving and he felt as if the memory of those scars were fading even more from the love she offered him.

"I love you, Stringfellow Hawke…scars and all," she whispered to him and he smiled up at her sweet face.

"I love you too, Mrs. Caitlin Rose Hawke," he whispered in return. His hands slid down her naked body to her hips and she wiggled against him a little. "I know we just got married and we already have Emily to take care of but a part of me really hopes that by this time next year we have a new addition to our family."

Caitlin's smile was radiant as she leaned down to kiss him. "Me too and seeing how we've hardly went a few hours without having sex this last week it's a good possibility," she teased him.

"Isn't that what a honeymoon is for?" Hawke teased and she laughed.

"Making babies or sex?" she asked and he laughed.

"Well, maybe a little of both?"

That made Caitlin giggle and she leaned down and kissed the tip of her husband's nose. "You amaze me sometimes. I never knew you'd ever want kids like this. I mean I knew you liked children and were good with them but…I'm so glad you want to have children with me."

"I have to admit to you that you are only the second woman I've ever imagined having a child with," Hawke told her honestly.

"Who was the first?" she asked, wondering if it was his high school girlfriend or Gabrielle, his answer surprised her.

"Do you remember Tess Dixon?"

"The woman you had to escort to D.C. to testify? The woman you obviously did not like when you first found out it was her you were taking?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah, she and I had been involved when I was just a little older than you are now. She was…well, she was pregnant with my child. I wanted her to marry me. She chose instead to leave and terminate the pregnancy," he told her and Caitlin gasped.

"Oh my, God. I…I am so sorry she chose to do that," Caitlin said with tears in her eyes. She understood not bringing an unwanted child into the world but Hawke had wanted the child.

"We weren't ready to be parents, she really wasn't ready. She wanted too much, had too many plans. Wanted me to be someone I'm not. It never would have worked out even if we had married and had the baby. I guess she knew that too but I would have loved that child. No matter what I would have loved them," Hawke said softly. "They would have been a few years older than Emily is now."

"Oh, String," she whispered not sure what to say. If they had married, there is little chance she would have met String so she wasn't sure how to feel about it. But she ached inside for the loss of his child.

"It was a long time ago but I still wonder what he or she might have been like. Would they have loved flying or would they be musical? Would they have my eyes or hers…things like that I still wonder about," Hawke said softly as his hands moved over Caitlin's body, comforting himself by touching her.

"You have a second and hopefully a third and fourth chance now. I want your children, I want to be your wife and most of all…I don't want you to change. I love you just as you are, even when you are being bossy and moody," Caitlin teased him a little.

"So, you're just fine with our lives as they are? No glitz and glamour and Hollywood parties or climbing the ladder at the FIRM? That's what she wanted, she wanted me to have a job like Michael's," Hawke said.

"Oh, gosh. No. No way. You'd be miserable. I wouldn't want that. It's fun to dip our toes in the water once in a while going to a party sometime for Dom and the studios or working with Michael but I wouldn't enjoy that either. I do the books for Dom because he needs the help, I don't do it because I like it. And I wouldn't want that whole rich housewife thing. I like flying and the stunts and the excitement of our Airwolf missions. I love being able to help people, why do you think I was a cop? I wanted to help people. No, I wouldn't change you for all the gold in the world, String," Caitlin said softly.

Hawke was smiling up at the woman he married, grateful to whatever higher power there was that brought her into his life. "I'd never want to change you either. Well maybe one thing…"

"What?" Caitlin asked confused and maybe a little hurt, leaning up from him but he pulled her closer.

"Your love of the Dallas Cowboys," Hawke teased her and she started to laugh.

"You can take the girl out of Texas…" she said.

"…but you can't take Texas out of the girl, I know," Hawke teased her.


	22. Chapter 22

When Hawke and Caitlin's plane landed at Van Nuys, they were met by Dom and Emily. The little girl was so happy to see her parents she ran to them as soon as their feet touched the tarmac.

Hawke set down his suitcases and scooped the little girl into his arms and kissed her cheek and held her as she reached out to hug and kiss Caitlin.

"I missed you soooo much!" Emily shouted and Caitlin smiled at her.

"Oh, baby girl, we missed you too. Very much. We brought pictures though, so you can see where we visited. Were you good for grandpa and Aunt Minh this week?" Caitlin asked.

"Yep. Le even let me play his video games last night. I'm not as good as him but it was fun!" Emily told her.

Hawke laughed and set the little girl down so he could pick up their suitcases again. "Come on, bug, let's get inside it's kinda chilly out here. It was nice and warm where we were," Hawke told her and they all headed into the hanger.

The day was a bit misty and foggy, and the wind was chilly compared to the weather they'd left behind, but they were certainly glad to be home again.

Dr. Karen Hansen was excited. She was going to get to work on Airwolf again today and she could not wait to start the upgrades. So much had happened just in the last few years in computer technology and Airwolf was about to benefit from top of the line hardware.

The software was evolving daily and she couldn't wait to start working with the memory files on Airwolf and the new AI software she was working with. Hawke was already an amazing pilot but she could give him a next level connection to Airwolf that would make the machine almost anticipate his next move based on past data.

It was very exciting stuff for a computer geek like herself. She just hoped she could convince Hawke of its usefulness.

They flew in Airwolf during broad daylight which was weird but the tower would only record a Bell 222 helicopter and without her armaments deployed she didn't look terribly different than any other similar chopper – well maybe a bit but with so much air traffic in the middle of the day Michael didn't think people would take much notice. Besides, Tala Star was supposed to be a research aerospace facility so it should be fine and fit with the whole hiding in plain sight ideal.

Hawke wasn't 100% sold on the idea but he went along with it for now.

When he taxied into the hanger at Tala Star, Hawke was surprised by the number of people there but 90% were in military uniforms, the rest in lab coats. The NRO had supplied him a full, top secret cleared staff and Hawke was a bit impressed that all of this was just for Airwolf.

Michael met him when he got out of Airwolf along with Karen Hansen. "Good to see you again, Doc," he said to the auburn-haired scientist.

"Good to see you again, Hawke. She's still beautiful as ever," she commented and Hawke smiled.

"That she is…so tell me about these plans of yours," he asked as they started walking toward a door that led to a lab with computer terminals lining the walls.

"We are going to upgrade all of her systems and some of her mechanical specs. I'd like some feedback from you and your engineers on those mechanical upgrades and I want to discuss some exciting information about the software upgrades," she told the two men as she led them to her private lab and closed the door.

"Exciting and software just doesn't seem to go together somehow," Hawke said as he took a seat and she laughed.

"Maybe not in your mind but for me it is very exciting and I think you'll end up being impressed too," Hansen said with a grin. "How much do you know about Artificial Intelligence?"

"Other than it not working as well as scientists would like?" Hawke answered.

"Not entirely true. There are aspects that are working, the problem is the computing power needed to achieve fast on the fly answers. But knowledge based learning, intelligent agents which is a new idea and connectivism which has been around since the 70s are all starting to come together. Airwolf is equipped with a memory system that records all of your missions. Every little adjustment that you have made, every combat maneuver you've used are all recorded and gives a baseline flying style for the computer to work with. It also separates your flying from other pilots who've used Airwolf. That data can be running through my software to improve Airwolf's reaction times. Basically, offering anticipation of your next maneuver and shaving seconds off your reaction time which in a combat situation I know would give you an edge. You are already an amazing anticipatory pilot to begin with but having Airwolf also anticipate your possible moves will give you a decisive edge in the air. She will also be able to offer solutions in a sticky situation. Her brain for lack of a better word can cycle through possible scenarios faster than a human can and she can offer in flight corrections or battle plans that may help especially in particularly difficult situations," Karen explained.

Hawke sat there for a few minutes, taking in all that she had said and giving it serious thought. "She wouldn't work autonomously as people believe AI should work but basically work in tandem with her pilot based on past data, just helping but not hindering the human pilot should they want to try something not in the database, right?"

"Exactly, it isn't the science fiction of AI but the reality of expert machine learning," Karen said. "The expert being you."

Michael was rubbing his finger across his mustache as he thought about it and it sounded promising. Hawke was the best combat pilot he'd ever seen. Having a helicopter that could anticipate what he might do based on past experience would be pretty fantastic. It would also be great for training as well.

"What about using this data for training simulation so others can learn to fly similar in style to Hawke?" Michael asked.

Hawke frowned at that and looked at his friend. "You trying to replace me already?"

Michael laughed. "No, but it would be nice to have that knowledge of yours, that natural ability to pass on and not just to your kids," Michael told him.

"Do me a favor, keep your mitts off my kids for anything government related okay? That is, once we start having them," Hawke said, adding the last when Karen's eyebrows rose.

"I don't intend to get your kids involved in anything. But if they are anything like you and Cait…well, there's a good chance they'll end up getting themselves involved in something all on their own," Michael told the other man and watched as Hawke pulled a face.

Hawke couldn't exactly deny that. If their kids turned out anything like them, he and Cait were in for some late nights, gray hairs and ulcers. "You know a good gastrologist? I have a feeling an ulcer is in my future," Hawke commented and Karen and Michael both laughed heartily at that.

"Let's just worry about getting the Lady up to snuff first and then we can talk about simulators. Are you planning on building more Airwolf models, like you originally planned?" Hawke asked after the laughter died down.

"It has been a thought in the back of my mind, at least one more but maybe in a few more years. Computer technology and computing power doubles or triples every other year it seems. Smaller and lighter hardware is coming out daily so we upgrade the current bird as much as we can and when it starts looking like we need to start a new version, we develop a new Airwolf. I don't want to have a fleet I just want to stay on top of the latest technology and not fall behind. The NRO mandate is satellites and aerospace tech for reconnaissance and spying from a great distance. Airwolf needs to be able to stay within that mandate," Michael explained.

"Works for me. I trust you, Karen. I know you aren't going to do anything that would harm the Lady, myself or my team. Now upgrading Airwolf's mechanical systems. She only has a few weaknesses, not sure what we can really do because it is the nature of a helicopter and they just aren't things we can really prevent. Like damage to her rotors which can take us out, I've mostly managed to avoid those types of hits but we have had problems before. Lucky shot or human error on my part, either way, they took us down," Hawke said and Michael remembered the rotor issue when they went down in Mexico and the time Hawke had to rescue those kids and Caitlin in South America. That though had been the main rotor and there was nothing that could be done but to take the time to fix it. Protecting the tail rotor was an option though.

"Would a fenestron or NOTAR tail rotor system work?" Karen suggested.

"I don't care for the fenestron system but NOTAR is a distinct possibility. It would mean the tail rotor wouldn't be exposed at all and might improve aerodynamics though the equalizer might be an issue at Mach speeds," Hawke said after a moment of thought. "It would take some testing and might be best to leave that big of a change to a new version of Airwolf."

"When we change out some of the hardware, it's going to free up some room and weight on board. What about having a new tail rotor assembly on board, you'd still have to land but repair would be faster? Make it so that it can be a quick change so you can get back into the air as fast as possible?" Michael suggested.

"That'd work," Hawke said. "If we can get a hundred pounds or so of hardware out to allow the weight."

"I think we'll get more than that in the upgrade," Karen said nodding as she wrote some things down.

Their meeting lasted most of the day, hammering out details that Hawke wanted covered along with ideas that Dom and Cait had already given him for ease of use of the engineering console. Karen liked what they had suggested, making the engineering console more user friendly.

Hawke was in an excellent mood when he left and took the short walk to Santini Air.

"Daddy!" Emily's voice carried to him as he walked up to the hanger and Hawke laughed as the little girl ran to him. He picked her up and carried her on his hip through the open hanger bay. Caitlin was vacuuming out one of the helicopters, Toni was doing some paperwork at her desk, Ev was working with Dom on the camera mount in the JetRanger and Le was there doing homework and watching Emily.

"Hi Uncle String," Le said, coming over and giving him a hug too.

"Hey, half-pint," he said as he walked over to the desk. Emily had been coloring on one side and Le was doing homework on the other.

He helped Emily back up into her chair and sat on the edge of the desk. "I miss anything exciting today?"

"Nope," Emily said. "Mommy and grandpa took turns showing me how to ride my bike for a little while. I got a boo boo on my knee but mommy fixed it up, she even kissed it."

"Aww, I'm sorry, bug. Do you want me to put the training wheels back on for a while?"

"Nope. Le said he got a few skinned knees when he stopped using them too," Emily said and Le shrugged at his uncle.

String just shook his head. He supposed a skinned knee wasn't the end of the world and she seemed fine. He heard the vacuum turn off and headed over to Caitlin.

"Heard I missed a boo boo," he said with a grin and she laughed.

"I think it scared me much more than it did her. She's a little dare devil," Caitlin said with a sigh.

"I'm willing to bet you were too at her age, I know I was," Hawke said. "What's that saying, you're paying for your raising?"

"Ugh, parental Karma," Caitlin laughed. Hawke put his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

"We'll live," he told her with a grin.

"Yeah, just like centuries of other parents," Caitlin said with a laugh. "Still didn't do my heart any good to see her fall like that."

"It wouldn't have mine either," Hawke admitted. "Come on, I'll help you put this thing up," he said pointing at the vacuum and helping Cait start rolling up the cord and hose.

Minh came by after her shift and picked up Le and they all shut down the hanger for the day and left for home. Toni and Dom were going out to dinner and Ev had a big date tonight with a waitress from the diner across the air field. Hawke, Caitlin and Emily were headed to the cabin for the night.

No one noticed the dark sedan that had been parked across from the hanger, blending in with the cars at the other air service. No one saw it leave following Minh's car.

When Minh and Le got to their apartment, they were already talking about what to have for dinner. She had some leftovers from the night before they could throw into a quick stir fry and Le agreed it sounded good to him. He stopped to check their mail box and dropped the key. He fumbled for it a little and then heard Minh scream. Before he made it to the door, her purse and contents scattered across the ground and his aunt was gone. He turned to see a dark car speeding away and ran to the end of the driveway of the apartment complex but he was unable to read the license plate.

Le stood there almost hyperventilating as his mind whirled. His aunt was kidnapped. He had to call the police and he needed to call his uncle. He raced back to the door and scooped up the keys from the ground, leaving his aunt's purse as it was. Le ran straight to the phone, he called 9-11 and told them he was a 10-year-old who just saw his aunt kidnapped from their apartment. Told them he was home alone and told them he was calling his uncle to come there. The dispatcher told him to hang on, to lock the door and not open it until the police arrived.

When the satellite phone rang while Cait was making dinner, Hawke had to set Emily on the floor where he'd been playing with her and answer it. He expected it to be Michael but it was an overly excited Le.

"Le…Le hang on slow down," he told him. "Take a breath and tell me what happened?"

"Someone took Aunt Minh! I was getting the mail, I heard her scream and ran up to the door, she was gone and her purse was left there on the ground. I called the police and I'm here alone right now. Please, Uncle String I need your help!"

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Le. Just stay put."

Hawke told Cait what was going on as he headed to the door. He gave both Cait and Emily a kiss and ran out to the JetRanger to head back to the city.

Meanwhile, Caitlin got on the phone and called Michael and told him to go to Minh's apartment. The man said he'd be there in 10 minutes. Emily was upset, asking what was wrong, where was Aunt Minh and Caitlin had to tell her that she didn't know. She then went over to the radio to call Hawke.

"Eagle Lake to Santini One," she said.

"Santini One, here," Hawke answered immediately.

"String, I called Michael, he'll be at the apartment in 10 minutes to watch Le and talk to the police when they arrive," she told him.

"Thank you. I didn't even think," Hawke said and she said she knew.

"Stay safe," she told him.

"Will do, Santini One, out."

Hawke pushed the JetRanger at the top of its speed back to the city and when he arrived at the hanger the chopper blades were still whirling when he jumped out and ran to his Jeep. He made the 10-minute drive in 7 minutes.

Cop cars were parked in the apartment complex driveway and on the street. Hawke parked behind Michael's car and ran up to the apartment. The police stopped him and he told them he was the boy's uncle. They had been told he'd be coming and let him through. Hawke was nearly bowled over backwards when Le threw his arms around the man's waist.

"They took her, Uncle String. They just took her. I wasn't fast enough to see the license plate," the boy cried and Hawke tried to soothe him as best he could.

"It's okay, Le. We'll find her," he told the boy. One of the police detectives walked up.

"You're Stringfellow Hawke?"

"Yeah, any idea why someone would kidnap Minh?"

"We have no idea. We thought it had to do with some of the people her husband was involved with in his drug running operation. Darren McBride has no clue why anyone would want Minh," the detective said.

"Minh doesn't have anything and she wasn't involved in his illegal activities," Michael said.

"We know that but that was the easiest scenario, otherwise it could have just been random or…well anything," the detective said.

Le was still clinging to Hawke and he moved over and sat down on the couch and pulled the boy to sit next to him with his arm around him. Le rested his head on Hawke's chest and closed his eyes.

"So, unless we get a ransom call there isn't much we can do," Michael continued.

"That's right, we just don't have anything unless we get a call or..." the detective trailed off not wanting to say find a body in front of the child.

"Can I take Le home with me?" Hawke asked.

"Yeah, we'll monitor the phone here. Michael said he would act as contact," Jennings said and Hawke nodded.

"Thanks, Michael. I need to get back to the girls. Le, you want to grab some things to take to the cabin?"

The boy rubbed the tears away from his face and nodded. Hawke followed him to his room and helped him get some clothes together. "You want to bring anything else?"

"No. I need to bring my backpack though, I still have some math to finish," Le said and Hawke put his hand over the boy's.

"You aren't going to school tomorrow, Le. You'd never be able to concentrate, you'll come to the hanger with us if we come down from the cabin at all," Hawke told him.

"Oh. Okay," Le said and let go of the backpack.

Hawke stood staring at the boy for a moment and realized he was in a sort of daze and he walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. "We'll get through this, Le."

"What happens if she dies? What if they kill her?" Le asked tearfully.

"If the worst does happen which we'll hope it won't then we'll miss her and mourn her and you will come to live with us, Le. We'll take care of you, just like Emily. I'm sorry this happened, Le but never doubt that you are loved, you and Minh both and are part of our family. Family stands by each other, okay?" Hawke told the boy. "I won't give up on her though, neither will Michael. Promise we'll do everything we can, Le. I promise."

Le squeezed his uncle tighter and hoped that Minh would be okay. He didn't want to lose her like he lost his mom already. His dad was God only knows where and his uncle was in jail and might even be at fault for Minh being taken. Why was everything such a mess?

"I want to go to the cabin now. Do you think we could maybe camp in the living room tonight?" Le asked.

They'd done that once before, Hawke, Cait and Emily had all slept in the living room floor with him. It had been fun, they'd even roasted marshmallows in the fireplace.

"Yeah, we can do that," Hawke told him. "Come on, half-pint." He picked up Le's duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder as he walked the boy back out to the living room.

"I'm going to take Le home, I don't think he's even had dinner yet. We are going to all just camp out in front of the fireplace tonight. Give me a call if you hear anything," Hawke told Michael and Jennings.

After the pair left, Jennings turned to Michael. "That poor kid has been through a lot, hasn't he?" He'd read the file on the McBride case which included information on the child.

"Yes, far too much. The Hawke children seem to all have tragedy that touches their lives," Michael said sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"Stringfellow and his brother lost their parents in a boating accident back when they were just 10 and 13 years old. String's adopted daughter lost her parents in a car wreck and her grandmother who was her sole guardian and only family who could care for her was murdered by a serial killer this past December. She had named String her guardian in her will. Le's mother died in a car accident in Oregon a few years ago and his father has been missing in Vietnam since shortly after Le was born. I don't know how they all manage sometimes," Michael explained.

"Dear Lord, I hope we can get his aunt back alive," Jennings said.

"Me too. Me too," Michael said with a sigh.

Hawke had just gotten preflight done and filed his flightplan with the tower when he radioed Caitlin and let her know they were returning. She said she'd have dinner waiting for them if they were hungry. Le nodded a little at that and Hawke told her he'd see her soon.

"Uncle String? What kind of man was my dad?"

"I've sort of been waiting for you to ask something like that. He was the best big brother in the world, Le. I'm not just saying that. He took care of me, he saved my life when our parents were killed. He protected me, he was always there for me and he was a good man. Trustworthy and loyal. I don't know if his time in the POW camp changed him, that kind of thing can change a man but from what I understand he loved your mom and you very much. We are still looking for him, Michael and myself and other friends are all still looking for where he was taken from your grandfather's farm," Hawke explained.

"The war has been over for years, why do they keep him?" Le asked.

"They must need him for something, that is all I can think of. He was a talented pilot, I…I just don't know, or they just keep him because they have him. Who knows?" Hawke said softly.

"Excuse me Uncle String but people are assholes," Le spat angrily. So many people taken away from all of them. His dad because of a stupid war, his mom to a drunk driver, his uncle did it to himself going to jail, Emily's grandma, now his aunt, even uncle String's parents – the accident had been because of a drunk ramming into their boat. People sucked.

Hawke couldn't help it, he laughed. "Yeah, kid, some people really are, don't let Aunt Cait hear you say something like that though, I wouldn't put it past her to wash your mouth out with soap," Hawke told him. "But she won't hear it from me, okay? Cause I agree. Some people really are assholes."

He understood the child's anger and had felt it himself many times. It was part of why he tried to hide away from the world sometimes. He didn't want that for Le though, he didn't want his kids or his nephew to feel cursed as he had.

"I do want you to remember that I said some people, Le. Not everyone is," he reminded the boy and Le looked up at him.

"No, I guess not. You, Aunt Cait, Emily, Grandpa, Michael and Marella, Meg and Toni, Doc, Max and all Aunt Cait's family are all good people. You all made Aunt Minh and I feel like family…and you didn't know us from a hole in the ground a few months ago," Le said with a slight smile on his face. "I guess I got pretty lucky there."

"No, kiddo, we got lucky to have you in our lives," Hawke told him sincerely as they came over the lake to land.

Caitlin and Emily met them on the dock and Le was immediately wrapped up in Caitlin's warm hug and Emily had her little arms around him too and he realized if nothing else. He was loved and loved them all in return.


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning, Hawke was on the phone with Michael and then with Dom about what had happened. Dom called Buddy at the restaurant where Minh worked so he would know what was going on.

The police had already notified him but he told Dom that he thought he'd seen a guy paying attention to Minh the day before. Said it gave him the creeps a little the way the guy had watched Minh but she hadn't really noticed.

Dom asked if Buddy had mentioned it to the police and he said he did and gave them a description. Dom called Hawke back with the details and he decided to fly down to talk with all of them. Caitlin said she'd stay at home with the kids and so Hawke went alone to meet with Buddy, Dom and Michael at the hanger.

"There was never a call for ransom?" Hawke asked as he sat down with the other men.

"No. I'm sorry, Hawke," Michael said.

"Great," Hawke said with a sigh. "We still have nothing to go on."

Buddy shook his head. "I don't believe all this, Minh is a sweet girl. I guess the only blessing is they only took her and not Le too."

"Yeah, but its left the kid with a huge guilt trip too though. He feels like he should have seen something, a license plate at least but I told him likely the car was stolen or the plates were," Hawke said rubbing his forehead. He had a massive headache and he doubted it was going to go away anytime soon.

Dom reached over and squeezed Hawke's shoulder. "You're right though and all you can do is offer Le support. Is he doing okay I mean…he's been through a lot."

"Yeah, he cussed in front of me in the helicopter last night, I told him it was okay and he was right. Just told him not to say that sort of thing in front of Cait. He's pretty angry at the world right now," Hawke told him and Dom nodded.

"Yeah, he's got that Hawke temper all right," Dom told him and Hawke nodded. "Poor kid."

Michael sighed. "Buddy, I doubt they'll come back but keep your eyes peeled for that guy you saw yesterday. I think now all we can do is wait."

"I'm not good at waiting, Michael," Hawke growled and the other man nodded.

"I know but we have nothing to go on right now," he said.

"Yeah. I know. I can't even really justify taking the Lady out looking because she could be anywhere," Hawke sighed heavily.

"FBI, Los Angeles County Sheriff, Van Nuys Police, California State Police and the FIRM are all working together on the case," Michael told them. "Kidnappings always bring in as many resources as we can get but the longer it goes without a ransom demand the less likely that Minh is still alive."

Dom banged his ring against the desk and sighed. "You mind if I come back up to the cabin with you? I am just going to close the hanger today, there isn't much going on here anyway and I want to be close to the kids," Dom said and Hawke nodded.

"Of course, Dom," he told him.

Michael signaled to Marella who had been on the phone the whole time and she came over to them. "Have the phones manned here just in case a ransom call comes in here," the former spy said and Marella nodded.

"Hawke, give my best to everyone," Marella told Hawke giving him a squeeze to his shoulder.

"Thanks, Marella. Will do, come on, Dom."

Over the course of the next two days no ransom demands came, no calls, no leads, nothing had been found at all. Everyone in the family was on edge, Le was practically a nervous wreck, Hawke was feeling helpless, Dom was too and Caitlin and Emily tried their best to cheer up the men and Le as much as they could. Caitlin knew from her police training that it was unlikely that Minh was still alive but she'd kept quiet about it.

The ring of the satellite phone on the third day since Minh had gone missing brought Hawke rushing to answer it. Michael's news was not good though. They found Minh's body in the desert with no clue who did it or why yet. Now they were faced with telling another child their parental figure was murdered. Michael had wanted to come and tell them in person but he was at the crime scene working with getting evidence to the FIRM forensic team since he still had contacts there. He called because he didn't want them to hear it in the news or have to wait any longer than they had for news about Minh.

Thankfully, Dom had taken the kids out for a walk. The day was nice and clear and was the warmest they'd had this season up at the cabin. Hawke threw his coffee mug across the room, shattering it against the wall and drawing Caitlin down from the loft. She ran down stairs and saw him with his head in his hands and the broken mug against the baseboards. It dawned on her what probably had caused it and she ran to him and wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Minh's gone?"

Hawke squeezed his eyes tightly shut and nodded. "They found her body in the desert," he said brokenly.

Caitlin started to cry and Hawke stood up to wrap his arms around her. They needed to get it together before Dom returned with the kids but Minh had become family, their friend and despite all his training, having Airwolf, he couldn't save her. That ate at Hawke the most, there was absolutely nothing he could do to help this time. Le had lost so much in his short life and Hawke was more determined than ever that he was going to protect his family and somehow, they were going to find Sinjin. Le needed his father.

Hawke lost the battle with his own tears as Caitlin cried against his neck. He was angry but he was also heartbroken. Minh hadn't deserved this. He even found himself sad for McBride too. Darren was an ass, had made mistakes, some pretty damn big ones but he did love Minh.

Caitlin drew away from him, wiping tears from her face and sniffling. "I need to clean up my face, Le doesn't need to see me this way," she said and Hawke shook his head.

"You look fine, he understands that you were close to Minh," Hawke told her and wiped at the tears on his own face. "Hell, I'm a mess too."

He gave Caitlin a kiss on her forehead and then went to the closet under the stairs to get the broom and dustpan to clean up the mess he'd made with his coffee mug.

Caitlin went in search of tissues and cleaned her face and helped Hawke clean up the small mess. She couldn't blame him for it at all.

They'd just finished cleaning up when they heard Dom and Emily laughing as the three came in the door with Tet.

Dom saw Caitlin's nose and eyes were red and Hawke's eyes looked suspiciously damp as well. Le picked up on it right away too. He stopped halfway between the door and where Hawke was standing and just looked at his uncle's face.

"No," the boy said and closed his eyes. Hawke and Caitlin crossed the room to him and both dropped down to their knees to hug him. He started to cry and Dom picked up Emily and carried her to the couch. She looked at the scene and despite her age, she knew Aunt Minh had been missing, she knew her parents and Le wouldn't be crying if it wasn't something really bad.

"Aunt Minh went to heaven with Granny and my parents?" she asked Dom and the man felt tears on his own cheeks as well.

"I think so, sweetheart," he whispered and let the little girl curl against him.

Le drew back a little from his aunt and uncle's embrace and looked over at Grandpa Dom and Emily. She was crying too and so was Dom. They'd all cared about Aunt Minh.

Le went to join Dom and Emily on the couch and the little girl threw her arms around him and told him how sorry she was. The children just hugged each other and cried and Caitlin went and sat down next to them too, Hawke knelt in the floor in front of them.

"Le, we are going to have you move in with us, okay?" Hawke told him.

Le nodded but the addition to the cabin was nowhere near finished yet, just started in fact. "There isn't very much room here," he whispered and Hawke nodded.

"We'll come up with something," he told the boy. Caitlin reach over for the box of tissues and offered some to the kids, taking a few for herself because she was crying again.

Dom dropped a kiss on top of Le and Emily's heads and stood up. He went outside and walked down the dock trying to understand why his family had to suffer so much. He heard footsteps and knew from the cadence it was String.

"I knew it could come to this but I really hoped it wouldn't," Dom said without turning around.

"I know. Cait knew too she mentioned that after 24 hours that the chances of finding her alive went down quickly," Hawke said. "She hoped she was wrong of course but her training told her she probably wasn't."

"Damn it, String why can't this family catch a break?"

"Now you know why I thought I was cursed but I've realized now that it isn't just me is it? Life sucks so we just have to stick together. I'll do anything to protect this family, Dom. I'm damn tired of losing the people I care about. And I really need Michael to help me find Sinjin. He's needed not just for us but for Le," Hawke said with a heavy sigh.

Dom nodded. He'd had losses in his life as well and knew a fair share of people who had as well. Hawke was right, yes, he'd had more than his share and so had Le and Emily but it had nothing to do with a curse or *them* as individual people.

"You know you always have me on your side, String. I'd do anything for all of you kids and you know it," Dom told him.

"Think you could talk to that real estate lady, Kathy for me? I think until the cabin is ready we need to move into a bigger place just for a short time at least. I can't do an apartment, that would drive me insane but if we could find a rent house for a while it would probably be a good idea just for a few months," Hawke told him.

"Yeah, yeah sure. I think she could find you something with enough elbow room inside and out at least for a short time," Dom said with a nod.

Hawke headed back inside and when he walked in Le got up and came over and hugged him around the waist. His tears were dry now but the boy was still distraught. "Hey, kiddo," Hawke whispered to the boy and just held him as long as the boy wanted him to. When Le let go he looked up at Hawke with sad brown eyes.

"I'm going to have to notify your school and do some legal paperwork and stuff. I'll fly down with Dom; do you need anything from your bedroom?" Hawke asked the boy and Le nodded.

"Could you bring my backpack?" Le asked.

"Sure, is that all you want?"

"Yeah, we can worry about my other stuff later. Be careful, Uncle String," Le told him and Hawke realized how much that meant now.

"Will do, you keep an eye on the ladies for me," Hawke told him and patted his shoulder.

Caitlin and Emily came over to give him hugs and kisses and Caitlin told him to take his time. She knew he had a lot to take care of now.

"Cait, we are going to have to talk about our living situation," he whispered.

"Yeah, whatever you decide I'm fine with. Really, it is only temporary after all," she told him and he nodded in understanding.

He whispered in Emily's ear to try to keep Le's spirits up and she smiled weakly at him. "I'll do my best, daddy," she whispered back and kissed his cheek.

Hawke hated to leave right now but he felt it would be best for he and Dom to get started on everything. Le's school needed notified, he needed to pick up homework for the kid, he needed to arrange a funeral for Minh and they'd need to talk to her landlord about her apartment. They'd also need to talk to Michael about Minh's will and he needed to see about finding a rent house big enough for them that was close enough to Van Nuys but not with neighbors too close. Hawke didn't want to deal with that.

The flight down from the mountain was quiet, neither man feeling very talkative.

It took most of the day to take care of everything that needed done but Dom and Hawke had split up the duties and gotten it done faster than they would have otherwise.

The last thing had brought Hawke to Dom's friend Kathy's office. She sold and rented houses all over Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. Everything from horse ranches to duplexes and multi-million-dollar homes to stars.

Kathy Moore met him practically as soon as he walked in and offered her hand to him.

"Hawke, I am so sorry to hear about your nephew, I saw on the news about well…the woman found in the desert. Dom told me the rest. I'm just so sorry," she said as she shook his hand firmly.

"Thank you, unfortunately on top of just the whole crappy situation to begin with it has put us in a very tight living situation. We already were packed in pretty tight at the cabin with Emily and my wife Caitlin and we haven't gotten terribly far with the renovation and addition to the cabin yet and now we need room for Le too," Hawke explained. Kathy knew Dom fairly well, oddly enough she was one of his poker buddies and so she knew of Dom's new grandchildren and daughter in law.

"The cabin is just a one bedroom, isn't it?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, sleeping with our daughter in the room or down in the living room hasn't been the best situation either," Hawke said and the woman laughed.

"Lord, no I don't imagine. Newlyweds and having a 4 year old to contend with as well…now a 10 year old? You went from no family to too much in the blink of an eye," Kathy said with a shake of her head. "Well, if I know you the way I think I do, you won't want something right in town with close neighbors."

"No such thing as too much family but it did happen fast," Hawke told her.

"You've got a dog too right? I think I've heard Dom complaining about him a time or two," Kathy said flipping through a ring binder on her desk.

"Actually, we have two now, my daughter's German shepherd and mine is a coon hound that has a love hate relationship with Dom," Hawke told her with a laugh.

"I see, it sure seems that way, the way he complains about your dog. Well, I have two houses that are available to rent that would be perfect for you I think. Four bedrooms in both. Both with several acres of fenced land. One is near Topanga the other is close to Sun Valley both are about a half hour from the hanger," Kathy explained as she took out two sheets from her book of photos and handed them to him.

One was a two-story farm style house, the interior with a lot of wood and stone, very much like the cabin in style and it came furnished and decorated as is. The owners were out of the country she explained and would rather do a short-term rental than leave it vacant. It also had a swimming pool that the kids and Cait might enjoy for the summer.

The other was a Tuscan design home, lots of beautiful gardens and stonework with gorgeous views from above the canyon. If it were just he and Cait and maybe Le he might agree to that one just for the view but the deck that overhung the cliff was a nightmare in the making with Emily. She was far too adventurous for that. "I love the views on this one but I just can't see it being safe for the kids, Le maybe though he can be a little dare devil but Emily? I'd have heart failure daily," he said and Kathy laughed.

"So, the farm style in Sun Valley?"

"Unless you have anything else that would work?" Hawke asked.

"Not for rent, plenty for sale but no rentals," she explained. "Well there are a couple of rentals but they are far and away outside your budget. Those are things pro athletes and movie stars rent."

"Yeah, I'd rather not spend that much for a temporary rental," Hawke laughed.

"For the price of a few months' rent on a couple of those houses you could buy a full out horse ranch," Kathy told him and he shook his head in disgust.

"When can I take Cait and the kids to see this place?" he asked and Kathy smiled.

"I can meet you there anytime you like. It is move in ready the owners just left on their 6-month romp around Europe last week," Kathy explained. "The pool and lawn service is part of the rent so you won't have to take care of any of that stuff. They just want the house lived in rather than having it sitting empty. Nice couple, they have 3 adult children who come home to visit often so the parents haven't downsized because of that."

"They won't mind the dogs in the house?"

"No, they had pets until about a year ago when their dog died. They hadn't taken on a new one knowing they were taking this trip – they said as long as the pets are housebroken they are fine with it," Kathy explained pulling out the paperwork that went with the rental. "Why don't you take the photos and the rental agreement home tonight, show it to the wife and see what she thinks?"

"Thank you. Since we need a place sooner rather than later, how about tomorrow afternoon we come to look at it in person?" Hawke asked and Kathy told him that was fine and suggested 2 o'clock.

He shook hands with her and gathered all the paperwork she'd given him to take home.

Dom was waiting for him when Hawke got back to the hanger. "How'd it go at Le's school?"

"They were all terribly sorry to hear about Minh and said that Le could take the rest of this week and part of the next. They said his grades are good enough that if he keeps up with all the homework they are sending home that his grade shouldn't suffer at all. He'll have a few make up tests to take but they felt he'd be able to pass them just fine as long as he does the bookwork they gave him. How'd the house hunting go?" Dom asked.

"Glad they are giving him so much time to adjust. Kathy had just two houses. Both really nice but though one was really gorgeous at Topanga Canyon it had a steep cliff drop off in the back and I just couldn't imagine Emily there. She'd have us all scared to death, you know how she can be," Hawke said. "So, we are going to look at the one in Sun Valley." Hawke handed Dom the photos and he whistled.

"Oh, right up your alley with all that wood and stone, oh, and the kids and Cait will love the pool," Dom commented.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Plus, no death defying cliff hanging for Emily," Hawke said with a grin.

"Comes fully furnished too?"

"Yeah, the owners are just on a long vacation, one of those retirement trips of a lifetime and they are renting the house out while they are in Europe for 6 months. They just left last week so we'll be out before they ever get back, at least I sure hope so," Hawke said referring to the time needed to remodel the cabin.

"I'm sure it'll be more than enough time. Now that the weather has cleared up at the lake the construction will go faster than you imagine it will," Dom told him.

"You want me to fly you back up or you want to just take the chopper up on your own tonight?"

"I think I'll go up on my own. I have a lot to discuss with Cait and the kids and then we are going to tour the house tomorrow around two but I need to also come back and talk to Michael about a few final things to do with Minh's will. We need to figure out what to do with the rest of the things from the apartment too," Hawke told him.

"Ugh, yeah. I suppose we could put it all in storage for Le like we did with some of Cait's stuff," Dom suggested.

"Yeah, I think that is all we really can do at this point. Le's bedroom furniture can come up to the cabin once it is ready but Minh's furniture, well maybe Le would want to sell it like Emily did and I can put the cash in a trust for him with Minh's life insurance?" Hawke said with a shrug. He sold Granny's cabin, all the contents except personal items like photos and mementos which he kept for Emily in storage until he could move them to the cabin. He also sold the old truck her granny had owned, all with Emily's blessing and put the money in a trust fund for Emily. He'd just have to talk with Le about it and see what he wanted to do.

"I'm going to work here at the hanger tomorrow, I talked to Toni and she and Ev will be here to help out so you and Cait and the kids can deal with all this stuff without too much pressure," Dom said giving Hawke a pat on the shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, ya know? Taking in these kids, giving them a loving home, putting them and Caitlin first. I'm real proud of you, always have been but even more so now. You've taken on a lot in the last several months," Dom continued wanting to let the boy know he'd done good.

"Thanks, Dom. I feel like I don't really know what I'm doing but I'm trying my best. You and Cait help a hell of a lot though," Hawke told the man he considered his father.

"I'm not sure any of us ever really know what we're doing when it comes to kids, we just do our best," Dom told him, remembering feeling that way himself when he took in String and Sinjin.

"As far as examples go, I've got the best one," Hawke told the older man and hugged him.

Dom swallowed hard and hugged the boy back tightly. They might pick at each other sometimes but he loved that kid as if he was his own.

"Give the kids and Cait my love, will you?"

"You got it," Hawke answered as he gathered up everything and Le's backpack to return home.


	24. Chapter 24

The next several days were hectic moving from the cabin to the house in Sun Valley and arranging Minh's funeral and getting things cleared out of the apartment. The house they were renting had a 3-car garage so Hawke had moved all the furniture into the third bay in the garage until they could sell it. One of Dom's poker buddies knew a guy that sold used furniture so they were thinking of just having him take it all off their hands except for Le's things.

By the weekend the funeral was behind them and they were moved and settled into the rent house. The construction crew was already at work on the cabin and the family was relaxing around the pool. The place was nice, fairly quiet for being so close to the city and the weather was warm and dry. Le and Emily were playing in the pool, splashing each other and chasing one another around the shallow end. Caitlin was laid back in a chair reading and he was doing the same. It felt good to just relax after how crazy things had been the last few weeks. Le still had this whole week off from school, he was having a rough time at night mostly.

Nightmares, like Emily had but he was embarrassed by them and tried to not wake them but Hawke and Cait had been there for him each time. Two nights ago, after Minh's funeral that day Emily just came up to him at bedtime and said, "Why don't we sleep with mommy and daddy tonight? I'm sure they won't mind. I don't want to sleep alone," Emily told him and the boy looked up at him with such a sad look in his eyes that Hawke had immediately told the kids to come join them.

Caitlin and he had just put the kids between them and snuggled close. Both children had awoken with nightmares that night. Hawke figured Emily's was because Minh's death had dredged up her own memories from when her granny died and of course Le was still reeling from Minh's death and he was still feeling guilty. He and Cait had taken the kids into the kitchen and made them hot chocolate and sat up with them for a bit until they were sleepy enough again to return to bed.

Caitlin was still tired from the lack of sleep the last several nights and she felt "off" somehow. She'd been uncomfortable in her jeans the last few days and her breasts were so tender that when String hugged her that morning she almost yelped in pain. It dawned on her that she and String hadn't used protection at all since they got married. They knew they wanted children, even though now they had two so it wasn't impossible that she could be pregnant. She hadn't really missed a period yet but the last one had been extremely light for her.

She hadn't had morning sickness but that didn't mean anything, her friend Lacey never had any morning sickness only a lot of indigestion during her pregnancy. Caitlin had picked up a test at the grocery store the day before but hadn't bothered taking it yet. It said it was best to take in the morning on the box so she figured she'd take it tomorrow morning and see if her suspicions were right.

They had so much going on in their lives the last few weeks she wasn't sure if the timing was great but if she was she knew she'd be thrilled and knew String would be too. He'd even teased on their honeymoon about making a baby then. It was quite likely they had at that.

The phone rang just as Hawke was getting up to go get a refill on his iced tea so he jogged into the house to get it. They had the French doors open that led out to the pool so it was easy to hear the phone ringing. He picked it up just before the machine could click on and it was Michael.

He wanted to come and talk to Hawke and Caitlin about who he was going to hire for the child care center at the new office and a couple of new things Karen wanted them to know about. Hawke told him to go ahead and come by, that they were all just relaxing around the pool. Michael had laughed and said he never thought he'd ever see Hawke living so close to town with a pool but Hawke reminded him it was only temporary.

Caitlin had called the kids out of the pool so she could reapply suntan lotion on them so they wouldn't burn and she had them stay out for a few minutes under the umbrella and drink some water before they got back to their water battle.

"Besides, your fingers are all pruned you need to sit it out for a little bit. Give yourselves some time to work on strategy for your battle, hmm?" Caitlin told them both with a grin as she rubbed the lotion into Emily's shoulders and back. Hawke dropped down on the lounge chair beside Le and helped get his back, neck and shoulders while the boy took care of the rest.

"Don't forget to get your forehead and face or you'll regret it," Caitlin reminded the boy.

Hawke pulled Le's sunglasses off and rubbed some sunscreen on his ears and helped him with his face and nose before he popped the sunglasses back on the boy.

Emily was wiggling around on Caitlin's chair and Caitlin was laughing at her.

"Wiggle worm, what's wrong?" Caitlin asked and Emily said she felt all slimy and the woman laughed.

"Once it soaks in you won't feel it," she told her.

"I know, still feels all slick," she said wrinkling her nose.

Le laughed at the girl but he felt the same way while they waited on the sunscreen to soak in.

Hawke still had some on his hands and reached over and started rubbing it on Caitlin's toes which made her squirm and almost scream with laughter. Her toes were ticklish.

"Hawke if you don't stop that I'm going to end up kicking you," she said still laughing. He laughed but subsided once he had all the excess sunscreen off his hand.

"Just didn't want your toes to burn," he told her and she slid her sunglasses down to the end of her nose and gave him a dirty look.

A short time later they could hear the doorbell from the opposite side of the house. Hawke got up and went to let Michael in, both of the dogs were laying in the floor and simply thumped their tails at the man.

"In all the time I've known you, I don't think I've ever seen you in swim wear," Michael said as Hawke led him through the house to the back.

"You're probably right," Hawke told him with a shrug as he stopped in the kitchen and poured the man a glass of tea. "The kids are just about to get back in the pool so I'd advise sitting as far back as you can unless you want to get wet. They have been in an intense splash war."

Michael thanked him for the tea and laughed as he walked out onto the sunny pool area and sat down under the umbrella with a patio table. Caitlin looked lovely in a red bikini with matching red toenails.

"Hi, Michael," she said.

"Hello, Cait. Looks like the kids are having a blast," he said with a smile at the kids playing. Little Emily had on a pink and white polka dot bathing suit with ruffles on her bottom and Le wore navy blue swim trunks in a similar style to the grey ones that Hawke was wearing.

"Oh, they are loving it. They needed this after everything this past week," Caitlin said softly to him.

"I imagine so, you two probably needed the relaxation as well. Maybe I can help take a little off your minds though. Karen said that the Lady is ready for testing starting next week, I figured that might be some nice news for the two of you. I know the whole team is looking forward to flying her again. She is excited for you guys to test out the new upgrades," Michael said, knowing how much the three of them loved Airwolf. They were going to love the new upgrades too.

"Oh, that is good news. I can't wait to try out some of the new toys in engineering and countermeasures," Caitlin said with a grin.

Hawke smiled at her enthusiasm, he was looking forward to trying out the new toys as well and he knew Dom was chomping at the bit to get back in the Lady.

"What was that on the phone about the child care center?" Hawke asked, he turned quickly though to check on the kids when he heard Emily squeal. She was fine though so he turned back and noticed Cait had too.

Michael wanted to laugh. A year ago, he would have never imagined seeing Hawke be a protective dad but here he was. "Meg gave me a couple names to check out and I asked them to come in to talk with Marella and myself. We really liked Tracy Rogers. She has a very clean background, her dad is military, still in the Marines in fact. Tracy has dual degrees in child psychology and childhood education, we think she'd be great running the center. Marella really liked her a lot and I think you two will as well, and the kids. Some of the other staff at the office will be utilizing the child care center as well and we have another person we'd like to bring on with her named Christa Brown. She was a third-grade teacher for 5 years for the city of Los Angeles but wanted something with better pay and more flexible hours because her mother has been very ill. Breast cancer. She has been trading off care giver duties with her sister and having more flexible hours would make things easier on them. Her background is spotless and she comes highly recommended by the school district."

"Wow, well it sounds like you've really had them checked out," Caitlin said, impressed with the information.

"I promised I would. I cannot stress enough how important it is to me to keep all of our people safe from our janitorial staff right up to Marella and myself. I mean it, I'm damn tired of my people being targeted. Especially after the last few weeks. I'm working on making sure that all family members have tracers of one kind or another, even extended family if necessary," Michael said seriously, knowing if he'd done this with Minh they'd have been able to track her and get her back before the worst happened.

Hawke looked down at the table for a moment, understanding where Michael was coming from. He'd pretty much told Dom the same about protecting his family. "I agree with you. I think we all need tracers. Anyone who can be used against any member of the team should be protected," Hawke said with a firm nod.

"You'll even wear one?" Caitlin asked.

"Yep. I'll even wear one," Hawke told her with a grin.

That actually surprised Caitlin, he'd never been particularly careful about himself. Wanting to protect everyone else was a given with Hawke but protecting himself had never seemed to be a top priority for him. She supposed fatherhood had changed him in that sense. He wants to be there for the kids and maybe for her too.

Caitlin laid her hand over his and squeezed gently then cut her eyes toward the pool where the kids were still playing.

Michael was a little surprised that Hawke had volunteered to wear a tracer but now that there wasn't any worry about protecting Airwolf from the FIRM he figured the man felt it was okay to wear one.

"Great, Marella will take care of the tracers for everyone. The last thing I didn't mention on the phone. Larry Mason has managed to piece together some more intel on Sinjin. He managed to pick up something eight years ago about some POW's of various nationalities being moved across borders and into Russia we had some intel on that but now we have more. After some digging we know Sinjin was one of them they were using their military serial numbers for record keeping. He ended up in a Siberian prison where from what we can tell they tried to find out anything they could from him but he didn't know much by that point. He remained there for 2 years some of that time in solitary confinement. That brings us to 6 years ago. He is not in that prison now there was some strange information that we haven't quite worked out yet but we are getting closer to tracking him down. As of six years ago, we know for sure that Sinjin was still alive, so Larry and I have hope that he is still alive now. We are getting closer to finding him, Hawke," Michael told them.

Hawke had grasped Caitlin's hand in his and she could feel it shake slightly and knew it was killing him still not knowing where Sinjin was but now there was more hope than ever before. Just six years instead of 16 to put together.

Hawke knew that what Larry did was slow and painstaking work and he knew the man was the best at what he did but the wait was killing him.

"What was the strange information?" Hawke asked.

"We aren't quite sure what to make of it but from bits and pieces we think maybe a UN sponsored group may have gotten some of the prisoners out and we think maybe Sinjin was among them but we don't have all the details yet and if they did get him out where is he? Larry is cobbling together what he can from several heavily redacted files," Michael explained.

"So, Mason is just following a paper trail because there just isn't any physical evidence?" Hawke asked.

"Exactly. We've known for a long time that someone has tried to impede your search for your brother for years, we just don't know who or why. But we know that he's been kept alive at least until 6 years ago and we can make a pretty good assumption that he is still alive, we just need to figure out where," Michael told him.

"Be sure and thank Larry for me, will ya?" Hawke said, knowing the man had no reason to be helping at all.

"As I said before, he feels he owes you, Hawke. He said he is glad to be repaying the favor, plus he missed his puzzles," Michael explained with a grin.

Hawke smiled back at him and then looked at Caitlin. "What do you think?"

"I think we are closer than ever to finding him, String," she said softly and gave him a peck on the cheek.

About that time the kids came running up laughing. "Emily is half mermaid or something," Le said as he plopped down on one of the lounge chairs.

"Why do you say that?" Michael asked.

"She can hold her breath for a long time, beats me every single time," he shrugged as he drank from his glass of water.

Emily was giggling as she grabbed her cup and started downing water too. "Le's better than me at floating though," Emily said as she wrapped her towel around herself.

"That's because you can't be still," Hawke told her with a grin and Caitlin laughed. That certainly was the truth, Emily never stopped moving, sometimes even in her sleep. They'd find her in all sorts of weird positions at night when they checked on her.

"I need to get back to Tala Star now," Michael said. "Marella has plans for us tonight and I need to wrap up some things with Karen first."

"Maybe next weekend you and Marella can come for dinner," Caitlin suggested and Michael smiled.

"Now having a Caitlin cooked meal would definitely be a nice way to spend an evening," Michael told her and the woman blushed.


	25. Chapter 25

The next morning, Caitlin was in the master bathroom waiting on the little stick to show her a sign one way or another if what she suspected was true. She was pretty certain she was pregnant but she could also just be stressed out too, not like their lives had been hectic lately, she thought grimly.

It wasn't long though before a plus sign showed up very clearly and she swallowed hard. Tears of happiness gathered in her eyes and she couldn't stop smiling. Well…this should be interesting, she thought with a grin.

She continued with her morning routine, almost bouncing from nerves and just how to tell String they were pregnant.

When she walked into the bedroom, her husband was laying on his back with his arms under his head. He was awake and smiled at her as she came into the room.

"Good morning, Mrs. Hawke," he told her with that boyish grin she loved so much.

"Good morning, Mr. Hawke," she told him as she crossed to the bed to sit down beside him. Caitlin leaned down and gave him a sweet kiss and he drug her down into the bed as she giggled. Hawke rolled on top of her and she moved until he'd settled between her thighs.

"How long have you been up?" Hawke asked and she shrugged.

"Not long, I was going to go start breakfast soon. Figure the kids will be up in a little while," Caitlin told him and he smiled down at her.

"We could always lock the door," he murmured and kissed her again and she laughed.

"As much as I'd love to…there is something I need to tell you first," Caitlin said softly as she stared up into baby blue eyes.

"Hmm, what's that?" he asked as he leaned down to kiss her lightly again.

"Well, you know those additional children we talked about having one day?"

"Yeah."

"How's one day in, oh, maybe 6 to 8 months?" she said, not knowing how far along she was yet.

Hawke blinked at her, confused by her words at first and then a huge grin spread across his face. "Really? You're sure?" Hawke couldn't believe it, well he could, not like they weren't talking about it and hadn't used anything to keep from getting pregnant but it was still amazing to him. He was going to be a dad to a child with Caitlin, with this amazing woman he loved so much. Emily would have a little sister or brother and Le a first cousin.

"Unless the test is wrong it looks like I'm pregnant," Caitlin said with one of her happiest smiles. "We can confirm it at the clinic tomorrow."

"Oh my, God. We are adding another child to this crazy family," Hawke said with a laugh and then kissed her deeply. He never thought he'd be in this situation. Two children already, granted they were foster children right now but still, and a new baby on the way. They had lucked out on the baby thing with Emily and Le, no late-night feedings, no diapers, already potty trained and all that. This one they were starting from scratch with. Le wasn't theirs and wouldn't be if they found Sinjin but Emily they were going to adopt and give her the Hawke last name. She'd be Emily Louise Black Hawke.

"We should probably wait until I get it confirmed tomorrow but I can't wait to tell the kids and Dom. He's going to be so happy to have another grandchild on the way. Oh…my mother is going to be thrilled too," Caitlin said with a laugh.

Hawke slid down Caitlin's body and lifted her shirt to reveal her tummy. "Hello in there, little Hawke," he said softly. "We can't wait to meet you." He leaned down and kissed her stomach and Caitlin felt tears of happiness gather in her eyes again.

String had been full of surprises over the last 5 months and one of them had been how incredibly sweet the man could be. He was great with Le and Emily and had been shockingly easy to live with. There had been a few bumps along the way with learning to live together for both of them but having known each other for so long and being such good friends helped. Something had changed in him, something that made him more open, had made him admit how he felt about her after all this time. Not all of it had to do with Emily coming into their lives and now their little family had grown again to add Le in a closer family dynamic than before and now another was going to be joining them in a few months. Their lives had changed so much and the man who had been a loner now was surrounded with family and with friends. He was still the same man, headstrong, brave, somewhat of a smart ass sometimes and she had learned that he loved fiercely. She finally understood his fears and his worry about a curse. It was because he loved too much and too deeply and she wasn't going to ever allow him to regret that love.

"I love you," Caitlin whispered to him and he looked up at her and smiled so happily it took her breath away.

"I love you too," he answered. He moved off of her and sat up and shook his head.

"A baby, we're going to need to add a nursery to the renovation plan," he told her and Caitlin laughed. It had always been a possibility but they hadn't exactly thought it would happen this soon. Caitlin had been on birth control pills for years and her doctor had told her it could be a while before they were out of her system and they actually did get pregnant. Apparently, it didn't take as long as he thought it would.

"Yeah, is there room to add off the loft so we can have the baby close?"

"I think so, you wanted to expand the laundry room, so we could just expand it out and then add off the loft and have it right over the laundry addition. That'll give the baby room for a crib, changing table, dresser and a rocking chair," Hawke said as he stood up from the bed and walked over to the closet to get some clothes out for the day.

"Oh, yeah. I think that will work. That way we can still have the window in the loft and just add a door into the nursery and a window in there too," Caitlin said as she got up and straightened out the bedcovers.

"I'll talk to Zach about it tomorrow when I meet with him," Hawke said. He already had a meeting with the contractor who was helping them with the remodel. His team already had some of it started and it was going well so far.

"Have they worked out the heating for the new addition, I forgot to ask the other day?" Caitlin said as she turned to face her husband.

"Yeah, wood burning forced air furnace would be safer for the kids," Hawke said as he headed toward the bathroom to take a shower.

"Oh good, I was worried about that. I didn't want a fireplace on that side of the cabin," Caitlin said. "I'm gona start breakfast while you get ready."

Caitlin practically floated down the stairs she was so happy. It wasn't confirmed yet of course but she was certain the test was correct. When she got downstairs she found Le sitting at the breakfast bar.

"Morning, Le. Emily still asleep?" she asked giving him a little kiss on the forehead.

"Morning, yeah, I checked before I came down and she was still out. Thought I'd just come have a glass of juice while I waited on everyone to get up. I figured you were already up just not down here yet," Le said with a shrug, used to Caitlin waking up early. He loved that his Aunt Cait was so affectionate and would give him hugs and kisses out of the blue sometimes.

"Hmm, yeah. I guess I probably was, I got up and took a shower and everything and then woke up String. He's showering now," she told the boy. "How much homework do you still have this week?"

"I still have two essay worksheets and four math worksheets. One is word problems," Le said making a face and Caitlin grinned at him as she set the frying pan on the stove.

"Your Uncle String is really good with math, you might ask him for help with those word problems," she suggested.

"He won't mind? He's been awful busy lately," Le said, worried he'd be just adding more stress to his uncle's busy days.

"No, he won't mind. Besides, he has a degree in applied physics, I think he'd be a lot of help with those problems and maybe with the geometry worksheet I saw in your folder. I think he'd enjoy helping you in fact," Caitlin explained, realizing that Le thought he was being a bother.

"I didn't know that," Le said looking up at Caitlin.

"Oh, well, yeah. Not like we talk about our education much I guess," Caitlin said with a laugh. "String has a master's degree, so he went to college for 6 years. I have a bachelor's degree so I went to college for 4 years. Mine is in criminal justice."

"Hmm, I guess I'd never really thought about it before. I knew he'd been in the military and was a pilot, I never considered he went to college too," Le said, not realizing his uncle had a degree like that.

"What do you think you might want to do when you grow up, Le?" Caitlin asked curiously as she worked on breakfast.

"You promise you won't laugh?" Le asked.

"Why on earth would I laugh?" Caitlin said turning to look at him.

"I want to be a veterinarian," Le said. "My friend Stevie laughed at me when we were asked in class."

"Why would anyone laugh at that?"

"He said that I should be a real doctor not an animal doctor, they make more money," Le said with a shrug. "But I love animals and I think I like them more than most people."

Caitlin bit her lip unsure how to feel about that. Le had been hurt a lot in his life, his time on the streets in Vietnam when he'd gotten separated from his Aunt hadn't been easy at all and he'd lost so many people in his life that it made sense he'd like animals more than people.

"Well, I know from growing up on a ranch that a good veterinarian is very important. The animals on a farm or ranch are very important not only for your livelihood but I know on our ranch we really loved our animals. Everything from the cat that kept mice out of the feed in the barn to the dogs that helped herd the cattle to each and every cow and calf and all the horses. Every animal on the ranch was important to us and having Doc Grayson to help us when they were sick or hurt was important for my dad," Caitlin explained.

Le was watching Caitlin with wide eyes as Emily and Hawke entered the kitchen. "What are we talking about?" Hawke asked as he came in and poured a glass of juice for Emily and then a cup of coffee for himself.

"I, uh, was telling Aunt Cait that I'd like to be a veterinarian when I grow up," Le said a little worried what his uncle might think.

"I didn't know that. That's a great thing to work toward, Le," Hawke told him. "You ever been to the San Diego Zoo?"

"No," Le answered.

"Well, since we have the rest of the week before you return to school why don't we take a day and go? I think someone who wants to be a vet would enjoy it, and you can talk to the vets and zookeepers there. Since it is the middle of the week and stuff it won't be terribly crowded and I have a friend that works there," Hawke said, unknowingly putting all of Le's worries to rest and didn't catch the wide smile Caitlin was giving him. Hawke had no idea what Le had said before he came downstairs so his easy acceptance and desire to take him to the zoo just told Le all he needed to know. It wasn't a silly idea and it wasn't something to be laughed at.

"I'd love to go to the zoo, oh that would be so much fun, Le! You want to fix animals like Sally and Tet?" Emily said gushingly to her cousin, she thought Le was pretty cool already and wanting to be an animal doctor? Well that was just the icing on the cake for her.

"Well, not just dogs but all kinds of animals, yeah," Le answered.

"That's soo cool," Emily announced as she squirmed in her chair.

"What about you, bug? What do you want to be when you grow up?" Hawke asked the little girl.

"A pilot like you and mommy and grandpa," Emily answered. "Or maybe a teacher? I dunno. I do want to be taller. I definitely want to be taller."

Her addendum had all of them laughing.

"I'm pretty sure you'll achieve the taller part in a few years, kiddo," Hawke told her with a chuckle.

"Better than one boy at school, when they asked our class he said he wanted to test mattresses," Le told them and Hawke really laughed at that one.

"I'd bet money he heard that one from his dad," Hawke said and Caitlin laughed as she plated up breakfast for everyone.

"When I was little I remember them asking our class, I think it was first grade and one of the boys said he wanted to be a dog when he grew up," Caitlin said as she joined them at the breakfast bar.

"At that age, I said I wanted to be a professional musician," Hawke said with a shrug.

"I honestly think you are good enough you could be," Caitlin told him honestly but Hawke just shook his head.

"That was before the flying bug bit me," he grinned and she laughed.

"Yeah, that one does tend to trump other things sometimes," she added.

Emily was staring at them oddly and Le started to laugh. "They don't mean an actual bug, Em."

"Oh," the little girl seemed to be relieved and Hawke had to hang his head and not laugh outright at the child.

Caitlin didn't fare as well and giggled a little. "It's called a metaphor, Emily. You might hear someone say they were bit by the acting bug or something like that. It just means that they tried it and really loved it."

"Okay, I thought I had to go looking for a bug at the hanger or something," Emily said with a funny look on her face and that did it for Hawke. He was shaking with laughter at that point and Caitlin started to giggle again.

"I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you, Emily. I'm imagining a bug with rotors," Hawke said to the child and she and Le started laughing too.

Le hopped down from his seat and ran to get his sketch pad out of his backpack. "I gotta draw that," he admitted as he came back to the bar. He took a few more bites of his breakfast and then turned to a blank page in the sketch book and started drawing.

Hawke leaned over to see what the boy was drawing and was incredibly impressed by the quick sure strokes the boy made with the pencil. He was scribbling a cartoon drawing that was really very good. It looked like a dragon fly with really big eyes and rotors with big feet for landing gear. It took the boy maybe 10 minutes to flesh out the small drawing on the page but it had Hawke grinning.

"That is awesome, Le," he told him. "I had no idea you could draw that way."

"Oh, Le is always drawing the coolest stuff, daddy. He drew a princess bear for me the other day. He even helped me color it, I put it on my dresser," Emily said as if Hawke and Caitlin should know this.

"Can I have a look?" Hawke asked, gesturing to the sketch pad.

Le shrugged. "Sure," he said as he handed it over.

Hawke started paging through and found that the drawings were really quite good for an adult let alone a 4th grader. Some were a little out of perspective but most were very good. There was a drawing of a menacing looking dragon, a sports car that looked like the real deal and a drawing of a bored looking girl with huge eyes along with a few popular cartoon characters he'd drawn. "You're an excellent artist, Le," Hawke told the boy honestly.

"Uh, thanks. I just like to doodle sometimes when I'm bored," Le said as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"These are more than doodles, half-pint, these are really very good. Oh, that lion is beautiful, you did an amazing job on that one," Hawke said, holding it out for Caitlin and Emily to see as well.

"Oh, that's so pretty, Le!" Emily said.

Le shook his head. "I drew that from a photo in National Geographic," he said with a shrug.

"Did you trace it?" Hawke asked.

"Well, no," Le admitted.

"Then, you did a great job," Hawke said. "It's okay to be humble but don't downplay your talents, Le. Not everyone, even adults, can draw like this. It's a gift, just accept it and accept the compliments you'll get and the occasional criticism too. Trust me, you'll get that too, even if you were Picasso reincarnated."

Le smiled a little, realizing that they were being honest with him. He knew his uncle had a lot of artwork, real, pricey stuff too. Obviously, he knew a bit about art so maybe he should just take the compliments like he said and not worry about the critics quite so much.

"Thanks, Uncle String," Le said honestly.

Hawke turned back to the funny little bug with rotors that Le had sketched out and asked if he could put it on the fridge. Le laughed and said sure, so he hung it up next to a drawing Emily had done of flowers with smiley faces.

Sinjin had been a pretty good artist too growing up. He was always drawing something when he was bored, even on napkins. Dom had kept every one of the little drawings he could find too. They were still in Dom's apartment in Sinjin's old bedroom. It was just one more thing that made Hawke feel a connection to his nephew.


	26. Chapter 26

The next day, Caitlin had called the clinic at Tala Star and got in for an appointment that morning. Since it was so close to the hanger, it wasn't any trouble to leave the kids at the hanger with Dom, Toni and Ev while she and Hawke went over. They didn't tell Dom why, he just assumed they had a meeting with Michael.

Caitlin was sitting on the exam table and Hawke was in a chair as they waited on the doctor to return. When he did, the man was smiling happily at them.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Hawke, looks like that home test was right on the money," Dr. Paul McCoy told them. He was a tall thin Navy doctor with kind eyes. "I can do an ultrasound to see how far along you are and give you a possible delivery date. Based on the answers to my questions earlier I'd estimate you are between 6 and 13 weeks pregnant but the ultrasound will be more accurate."

"Oh, that'd be wonderful," Caitlin said with a bright smile and Hawke nodded.

"Yeah, we'd be able to hear the heartbeat, too wouldn't we?" Hawke asked.

"If she's around 12 weeks yes, Caitlin, just lay back on the table here and lift your shirt just above your tummy and lower your pants just below your belly button," the doctor said as he rolled the piece of equipment over to her. There was no reason to get the woman completely undressed for this.

He tucked some blue paper towels around her clothes to keep the gel from getting on them and Caitlin jumped a little even though the gel was kind of warm. "That feels so weird," she commented and the doctor laughed.

"I'd be a rich man if I had a dollar for every time a woman has said that about this gel. I even had someone put it on my stomach once just to see what they meant and it does feel weird," McCoy said with a grin as he picked up the wand and started to roll it over Cait's stomach.

Hawke was standing beside her, holding her hand as they both watched the screen.

"Well there we are a fully developed baby in there but they are only about two and a half inches long right now," the doctor explained. He reached over and flipped a button and the speaker came to life filling the room with a whooshing sound and a distinct heartbeat.

"Oh my God," Hawke said with a grin as he pulled his eyes away from the monitor screen and looked at Caitlin. She returned his smile as they heard their baby's heartbeat for the first time.

"Beautiful sound, isn't it?" the doctor commented and pushed some buttons on the machine. It printed out a picture of the scan and he handed it over to the waiting parents.

"Looks like you'll be due around November 3rd to around the 10th give or take a few days either way," Dr. McCoy told the couple and Caitlin laughed.

"Almost a Thanksgiving baby," Caitlin said as the doctor wiped the gel off her and allowed her to get up again.

"I think that seems fitting, don't you? I'm thankful for our family," Hawke told Caitlin and she smiled at him as he helped her sit up.

The doctor thought they were a sweet couple and knew their little unit here at Tala Star revolved pretty much entirely around them and Airwolf. Keeping Caitlin Hawke and her baby healthy was going to be his job for the next several months.

"Speaking of your family, I do believe little Emily needs to come in for some vaccinations soon," the doctor informed them and Hawke made a face.

"Oh, she's going to just love that," he commented as he helped Caitlin down from the exam table.

"Aww, she's a tough little bird," the doctor said with a grin. Emily was a little sweetheart. Rambunctious and daring but a sweet child and very smart for her age.

"How's Le holding up?" he asked wanting to check on his young patient.

"He's still having some nightmares," Hawke told him. "But I think that is pretty normal for all he's been through. I had them too as a kid after my parents died."

McCoy looked up from the chart he was looking at and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry to hear he's having nightmares but you are right. Are they lessening in intensity though?"

"A little. They aren't happening more than once a night anymore, we are hoping by the time he starts back to school next week that he'll be sleeping through most nights," Caitlin said.

"When he has the nightmares do you go to him or does he come to you?" the doctor asked.

"Usually we go to him but sometimes he'll come to our room. Emily had a few bad nights as well, memories of her grandmother's death and all so she just asked to sleep with us and asked Le to join us. So, we all slept in our bed that night," Hawke told the doctor.

"It sounds like you are handling them as best as you can. If they get worse or start causing him other problems, bring him in to talk to Maria," McCoy told them.

"Will do, doc. Thanks," Hawke shook the man's hand and the doctor smiled at him.

"Congratulations you two," the doctor added and they both thanked him as they left.

The short walk back to the hanger the couple spent trying to figure out how to tell Dom and the kids about the baby. "Maybe we should just hand Dom the ultra sound picture?" Hawke said with a grin. It was a very good one, most he'd seen were hard to tell just what it was of but their baby was apparently photogenic.

Dom looked up as he heard Caitlin's laughter and saw she and Hawke walking with their arms around each other. He loved seeing them so openly in love like that. They looked so happy, happier than he'd seen them since their wedding in fact.

"Hi, Dom!" Caitlin called as they walked toward him.

"Hey, Cait, String, so how is everything at Tala Star?" Dom asked as he crossed the hanger toward them. The kids had gone with Toni to pick up lunch.

"Just wonderful!" Caitlin answered with one of those huge smiles of hers that made her eyes sparkle. It was no wonder his boy had fallen for the sweet girl.

"More than wonderful," Hawke said with a grin and he held out something to the older man.

Dom crunched up his face a little and put on his glasses to look at the little slip of paper. It dawned on him immediately what it was. "Is this?" Dom didn't finish the sentence before Caitlin hugged him.

"Another grandchild?" she said with a happy smile.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Dom exclaimed and hugged Caitlin to him. "Look at that little nose and fingers, oh. How far along are you?"

"The doctor said around 12 weeks give or take a week. I'm due in November," Caitlin told him and Hawke walked up and hugged his father figure.

"I'm going to have to ask Zach to add a nursery to the renovations now," Hawke told him.

"Yeah, oh the kids are going to be so excited," Dom told them. "They went with Toni to pick up lunch. You gona tell 'em the happy news when they get back?"

"Yes, we don't want to wait to tell them. Maybe the news will help cheer Le up a bit too?" Caitlin said and Hawke nodded.

"We need to assure them both that having our own child won't affect how we feel about them though," Hawke said and Dom nodded.

"Too true, you don't want them to think you'll love them any less," Dom agreed.

Hawke turned toward the hanger doors where he heard the Santini Air jeep pull up. "Sounds like they're back," he commented as he headed to help and Dom went as well. Caitlin walked over and cleared a desk for them to eat at and she called on Ev who was still under one of the helicopters working.

Le and Emily came running up with small bags and set them on the desk before wrapping their arms around Cait. She laughed and hugged them back.

When everyone was gathered around having lunch, Hawke gave Caitlin a look and she nodded. Dom winked at them in encouragement.

"We've got an announcement to make," Hawke said as he wrapped his arm around Caitlin.

Everyone paused their eating and looked at the couple. Toni hadn't seen either of them so happy they were practically glowing. Glowing. Oh. Toni smirked as she waited.

"In November, we are going to have a little addition to our family," Hawke began.

Emily was looking at them with her head cocked to the side and Le was looking at them oddly as well.

"We went to the doctor today and he said that we'll be welcoming a new Hawke to the family around the first few weeks of November. So, we are going to have to start thinking of names for the baby and get a nursery ready up at the cabin too," Caitlin explained.

Emily was the first to whoop and yell, "I'm gona be a big sister!"

Le started laughing at her enthusiasm and ran around the desk to hug his Aunt and Uncle. "Can't wait to meet my new cousin!" he told the couple and Caitlin kissed his forehead.

"Wow, congratulations!" Ev said and Toni echoed his sentiments.

They thanked everyone and Hawke picked up Emily when she ran around to hug them.

"Do we know if it is a boy or girl yet?" Emily asked.

"Not yet, sweetheart," Caitlin told her. "We have a picture though."

Dom handed it over for the kids to inspect and Le said "But Aunt Cait doesn't look pregnant."

"Well the baby is only about this big," Hawke said holding up his fingers to show them about 2 and a half inches.

"Wow, that's so tiny!" Emily said with wide eyes and even Le was surprised.


	27. Chapter 27

It was about a month later and though Le had returned to school after his Aunt's funeral he was now on Summer Break much to Emily's delight. She hated that he left for school all day while she had to stay at home, the hanger or at Meg's daycare. She loved all of those places but she missed Le terribly when he was at school. He'd become more than her cousin, he'd become her big brother.

Even when she started kindergarten this fall, she wouldn't be at the same school as Le which was really disappointing to her.

Le and Emily were sitting at the kitchen table with a pen and notebook. Caitlin was starting to show now, you could tell for sure she was pregnant. And the two children were seriously working on lists of baby names which had Caitlin amused but she didn't interrupt.

Dom had given her the week off from the hanger so she could spend it with the kids and get some rest, she had been feeling really tired lately. The doctor said everything was fine but fatigue was just something that happened with many pregnancies. He'd switched her to a high iron pre-natal vitamin to help combat it.

Hawke had been dividing his time during the days for weeks now between the hanger, Tala Star and the construction at the cabin. Somehow the man seemed to be thriving with all the responsibility though.

"So, what do we have so far?" Emily asked, starting to accidentally repeat names.

"The favorites so far for girls we have Sarah, Megan, Abigail, Allison, Jenna, Katrina, Tabitha, Sierra, Sadie, Sophia and Erika," Le read off.

"For boys we have Evan, Cody, Alexander, Nathan, Sebastian, Gabriel, Seth, Elias, Jameson and Owen," he added and Emily pursed her lips.

"Which do you like bestest for a boy?" Emily asked Le and he shrugged not bothering the correct her grammar.

"I think Jameson Elias Hawke would be nice," Le answered liking how the names sounded together. Definitely more of a mouthful than his short name Le Van Hawke. "You have your pick for girl's names?"

"I like Sophia but I don't know about a middle name, none of the others seem to work for a middle name," Emily complained.

"Lily?" Le offered up.

"Sophia Lily Hawke? That sounds pretty," Emily answered, "or maybe Sophia Marie Hawke?"

Le put stars next to the names they liked and added Marie, it was up to Aunt Cait and Uncle String but they'd made a list for them to start with.

Caitlin leaned against the island that separated the kitchen from the table where the kids were. "I really like the names you kids came up with. We'll have to see what String thinks when he gets home. Then again, we might meet the baby and pick a whole new name," Caitlin told them and they laughed.

"This gets you started at least," Le said with a grin as he tore off the sheet of notebook paper and stuck it on the fridge.

Caitlin just grinned at the two as they took off outside to play with both dogs in tow. Le might be a little over 5 years older than Emily but he often included her in everything he did and he even would agree to play tea party with her when she got the whim.

Caitlin followed them outside to keep an eye on them. She had barely had the chance to enter the back yard when suddenly she heard Le yelling at Emily, the dogs going crazy and then the little girl screaming bloody murder.

Caitlin ran out to find Emily screaming and crying while she held her leg and then the woman saw the cause. A rattlesnake. All the color drained from Caitlin's face as the equally frightened and confused creature was slithering quickly away. Le was struggling to hold the dogs back, not wanting them to get bitten too.

She registered the way it was moving and realized it was a sidewinder, she waited just a few seconds as the snake moved away and she and Le ran to Emily.

"She didn't see it, but I saw it raise its head but it was too late when I yelled. She stepped on it," Le explained breathlessly as Caitlin scooped the little girl into her arms.

"It was just defending itself," Caitlin murmured with tears of worry on her face. Her training told her that a sidewinder was at least not as deadly as some other rattlesnakes in California but she needed to get Emily to the emergency room immediately.

"Le, go grab my purse I'll meet you at the car," Caitlin told the boy and he raced ahead of her into the house with the dogs.

Caitlin carried Emily out to the car and got the child buckled in, even as Emily continue to cry so hard she was barely able to breathe. Just then Le was back, he'd already dug her keys out of her purse and handed them to her as soon as he piled in the car next to Emily.

Emily was in a lot of pain from the bite itself, she was a small child and the fangs had sunk in deep, the real problem was trying to get her calm though.

"She's bleeding a lot, should I put something on it?" Le yelled worriedly over Emily's cries.

"No, no…just wait we are almost to the hospital, I don't want pressure on it to make it worse. Try to calm her down, she needs to calm down and take her shoe and sock off," Caitlin said remembering her training.

"Okay," Le said as he did just that. Emily was still crying but started to calm a little when Le started petting her hair and telling her it was going to be okay. "They have medicine at the hospital that will fix it."

Caitlin wiped at her own tears and nodded. "They sure do, Em. They'll make it stop hurting and you'll be just fine," she added looking at the girl in the rearview mirror. She knew that wasn't entirely true but she wanted Emily to calm down. The girl was still crying and whimpering from the pain but was no longer screaming.

It took only four minutes to make the six-minute drive to the hospital because Caitlin ignored every speed limit and passed people even when she shouldn't have. She wasn't taking her to Tala Star because it was just too far, Emily didn't need to wait more than 20 minutes for treatment.

Caitlin drove right up to the ER doors and barely had the car in park before she was at the back door with Le helping her to get Emily. She carried the girl while Le was stuck carrying her purse for her and they ran into the hospital.

"My daughter was bit by a sidewinder rattlesnake, approximately 10 minutes ago. She is 4 years old and weighs 36 pounds," Caitlin told the nurse at the desk.

The woman and a male nurse ran around the counter to take Emily from her. "We've got her, ma'am," the man whose name tag said Kevin told her.

"Her name is Emily," Caitlin told them and assured the girl she'd be with her soon.

"Le take my change purse and call Hawke at the hanger," she told him. He dug into the larger purse and grabbed the little pouch and ran to the pay phone while she started filling out the paperwork needed.

"Ma'am, how far along are you?" one of the nurses asked and Caitlin looked up.

"Just over 16 weeks," she answered and tried to offer a smile when the nurse handed her a cup of water.

"We might want to check your blood pressure when you go back with Emily just to be sure you are okay too," she told her and Caitlin nodded.

"Thanks, I feel okay just anxious and worried right now," Caitlin said having not considered the stress on her pregnancy.

Le came back then and sidled up next to her. Caitlin put her left arm around him and kissed his cheek.

"He's on his way with Grandpa, Marella and Michael, they were at the hanger too with them," Le explained.

"Oh good, Marella will be a huge help," Caitlin said with a heavy sigh as she tried to remember her own social security number. Her mind was more than a little frazzled right now.

"If your husband is on the way he can finish this paperwork if you want to go back with your daughter," the nurse told her and Caitlin handed the paperwork to her.

"Oh, please, I'm sure she's terrified," Caitlin said as she got up and she and Le headed to a trauma room.

About fifteen minutes later the rest of the family arrived. Dom ran to Caitlin's car and saw she'd left the keys in it. He told Hawke and the others he would move it to a parking spot for them.

Hawke thanked him as he ran into the hospital and nearly slammed into the reception desk.

"My daughter was just brought in, bit by a snake," he blurted out and the woman nodded.

"Yes. Emily and her mother and brother are in a treatment room right now. I need to ask you to finish the paperwork here," she said handing him the clipboard but he glared at the woman.

"What room are they in?"

"Sir, please, they are in good hands but we need this filled out," she said. The look that Hawke gave her made the woman recoil slightly.

"I'll do it," Michael said. "You go see to your family, Hawke."

"Thank you, Michael," he said on a heavy breath and the woman behind the desk shook her head and told him which trauma room.

Hawke ran before she even finished saying the number.

"That's one worried papa," she commented and Michael chuckled.

"You have no idea," he said as he started writing down information.

"Are you his brother?" the woman named Susan asked.

"Employer," he said.

Marella poked him in the arm with one long fingernail and he grunted. "And friend."

Dom came running in then, panting a bit. "Where are they?"

Marella smiled. "Why don't I walk back with you, they are in trauma room three."

"There isn't much room back there for everyone," Susan told them but Dom gave her a look that could have curdled milk.

"This is her grandpa, I'll come back out here," Marella assured the woman as she walked with Dom. Obviously like father like son there the receptionist thought.

They entered to find Hawke holding Caitlin as she cried against his chest and Le sitting in a chair looking lost.

Emily looked terrible, the little girl was covered in a sheen of sweat, she was calm and asleep or at least sedated. She had two IV's already in her little arm and was so pale she almost matched the white sheets. Her leg was propped on a little foam block and had a bandage loosely placed to not inhibit swelling. It was already swollen almost twice the size of her other leg.

"They gave her something to rest and for the pain, she's on antivenin and antibiotics," Hawke explained over Caitlin's head.

"What happened?" Dom asked.

"She stepped on it," Le said. "She didn't see it, I only saw when it raised its head. I tried to warn her but it was too late."

"Aww, you did what you could, kiddo, those snakes are fast and think how you'd feel if you were just out sunning yourself and someone stepped on you, huh?" Dom said going to the boy and wrapping his arm around him.

Hawke sighed, it was just an accident and still could have happened at the cabin or at the rent house so it wasn't like they could have done much to prevent it.

"What kind of rattler was it?" Hawke asked and Caitlin looked up.

"Sidewinder," she said. Her eyes were red and puffy and he rubbed away some of her tears with his thumb.

"Could have been much worse," he said with a sigh. There were a couple rattlesnakes that had a much worse venomous bite than a sidewinder.

"Yeah, I know," she murmured.

"Mrs. Hawke?" A nurse said as she came into the room.

"Yes?"

"Doctor Mitchell asked me to take your blood pressure and see how you and the baby are doing after all the stress. Just as a precaution," the woman told them.

Hawke stepped out of the way and let the nurse do her thing checking on Cait and the baby. He thanked the woman several times and she smiled at the worried father.

Le and Dom switched places, the boy giving up the chair to the older man but as soon as he started to step away, Dom's arm wrapped around him and pulled him up into his lap. Le was almost 11 now but he was slender and still short for his age, taking after the Vietnamese side of his parentage. He'd be in fifth grade this fall and hadn't hit a growth spurt yet but probably soon would. Until then, Dom was glad for his small size so he could still cuddle the boy, especially now. Le had become very close with Emily since meeting her in December, they'd basically been brother and sister living with Caitlin and String the last few months and obviously loved each other dearly.

The nurse pronounced that Caitlin was fine, the baby's heartbeat was strong and her blood pressure a little elevated likely from worry and stress and nothing to worry too much about. She left the room and Doctor Mitchell came in.

"Hello, you must be Mr. Hawke, I'm Doctor Mitchell. So, mom and dad I'm here to let you know that Emily is going to be transferred upstairs to a room soon. If she responds to the antivenin well and no infection sets in we should be able to let her go home by the weekend. The next forty-eight hours will be the toughest part and she'll probably need some physical therapy depending on how much tissue damage occurs. Your wife got her here so quickly though, within about 10 minutes of the bite that we think she's going to have a very good recovery. She's a healthy child and very energetic from what your wife and son told me so I think she'll pull through well. There is some research that suggests that snake venom can do damage to some organs including the heart later in life, so her pediatrician will need to keep a close watch on that in the future," the doctor explained. No one corrected him when he'd called Le their son.

"So, she's not out of the woods yet?" Dom asked.

"No, sir. Not yet but none of the major poison symptoms had kicked in before we got the antivenin started so we are very optimistic. I spoke with a herpetologist at UCLA and from what she told me Emily didn't get the full venom strike, sometimes they don't release all of their venom during a strike and based on her symptoms and size and weight we think she only got a partial envenomation which is of course a very good thing. She said likely the snake was just as frightened as everyone else," the doctor explained.

"Well, that's a good thing, she's so little," Dom said worriedly as he looked over at the pale child in the bed.

"Yes, also do you have recent shot records for her? I don't want to give her a tetanus shot if she doesn't need one. Some snake bites can cause it so we just want to be safe. With her being only 4 she might not have had it yet."

"Oh, her shot card is in my purse, she starts kindergarten this fall but she had some shots recently," Caitlin said and Hawke reached over and picked up the bag and handed it to her.

Hawke still hadn't gotten over the shock of it all. There were many dangers in his life with piloting Airwolf but a snake bite in the back yard of their home? That was not something even on the radar.

"Le, let's go tell Michael and Marella what's going on," Dom said standing when the boy hopped down. "Do you know a room number for her yet?"

"Yes, she'll be moved up to 405," the doctor said. He took the card from Caitlin, "Let me get a copy of this and then we'll get Emily settled upstairs. She may wake up soon, the sedative we gave her was a mild one to calm her and not let the venom spread as fast."

Le went over and hugged both Caitlin and Hawke before he left with Dom. Caitlin stood up from her chair and leaned over Emily, kissing her on the forehead and brushing her black hair away from her little face.

"I was so scared, String," she whispered. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and held on.

"You handled it well, Cait. You got her to the hospital as fast as you could and didn't hesitate plus you handled Le, I'm sure he was scared too," Hawke told her.

"He was, but he was such a little trooper, String. He helped while I drove, talking to Emily, calming her. I asked him to take off her shoe and sock and he did, he even carried my purse, made the call to you for me. He is such a good boy, String. You're going to have to be sure and tell him just how proud we are of him. It'll mean more coming from you than me I think."

"I don't believe that, that boy loves you so much, Cait and he adores Emily. We are so lucky to have him as a part of our lives," Hawke told her.

When the medical team came in to transfer Emily upstairs, Hawke and Caitlin followed them out. They were met in the hallway where the elevator was by the rest of the family plus Michael and Marella.

"Seems this little gal has a whole lot of people who love her," one of the nurses said and Caitlin smiled at her.

Once they were settled in a room, a nurse came in to take Emily's vitals again, draw blood and checked her wound. The skin was dark around the puncture marks and hadn't yet spread to where they'd marked it with a marker line. Hawke frowned when he saw the snake bite. They were so lucky the snake hadn't released all its venom the way the doctor said but this wasn't going to be easy to heal from either.

Marella took a close look at the wound as well and asked a few medical questions. The nurse looked at her oddly and Marella explained she was a doctor. They discussed the medications being used and when the nurse left Marella sighed. "They are checking her clotting factors in her blood, they'll be doing that regularly. Hemorrhaging is common with rattlesnake bites of this type, thankfully sidewinders don't often cause neuropathic problems though so unless it is a bleed in the brain there should be no brain damage or issues there. Since she isn't openly bleeding from the fang punctures it is likely she's not experiencing the coagulant issues," Marella explained.

"The doctor mentioned organ and heart damage," Caitlin said worriedly.

"Yes, that is a possibility but if she is not having any bleeding issues then it improves her chances. The venom tends to attack the blood cells. It didn't nick any arteries or major veins, it went into the muscle of her leg so that may cause problems with necrosis but should be something that can be managed," Marella explained.

"Necrosis?" Dom asked.

"It is possible but we'll know more in the next 48 hours, so far, even though it looks bad it is actually not that bad, getting the antivenin to her so quickly has made a huge difference," Marella said as Michael slipped his arm around her waist.

Caitlin knew this but still worried that if worst came to worst Emily might have to have some surgical procedures but those are rare, she seemed to be handling it well so far. Marella was right, Emily was doing quite well. Her leg was swollen and dark at the puncture marks and very red but already it seemed the swelling hadn't reached the marker the doctor had drawn. That was good, especially this long afterwards.

Le looked up at Dom, hating to say anything but he was really hungry. "Grandpa?"

Dom looked down at the boy, pleased he was more easily calling him grandpa these days. "Yeah?"

"I hate to say anything because…well, it isn't that important but I'm getting really hungry," he said softly.

Hawke looked over at the boy, overhearing the whispered conversation. "Hey, it is important, Le. Why don't the three of us go down and get something to eat and bring something up for Cait? I'm sure the baby if not Cait could use something to eat," Hawke offered.

Caitlin looked up at her husband gratefully and Michael said he'd go with them too and let the ladies watch over Emily.

Marella pulled a chair up beside Caitlin's at Emily's beside. "How are you holding up?"

"They checked on the baby and I downstairs to make sure the stress hadn't upset my pregnancy and said I was fine. So, physically I'm okay but mentally? Emotionally? I'm worried sick. I couldn't do anything to stop it even if I had been closer behind the kids going outside. They ran ahead of me and I just sort of took my time following them out to the yard. It happened before I even got to the back door. The scariest part is, we leave the door back there open all the time so the dogs and kids can come and go as they please. That snake could have come into the house, Marella. Not that it would have, it was far warmer in the yard than the house but still," Caitlin said with a shiver.

"That is scary but the main thing is that you got Emily here so quickly. Caitlin your quick thinking made a huge difference, I hope you realize that," Marella told the other woman.

"I know, it still doesn't make me wonder if there was even more I could have done. I broke every traffic law on the books, what if I'd made things worse getting into an accident or something?" Caitlin admitted.

"You didn't, and do you honestly think any of us wouldn't have done the same?"

Caitlin laughed as she imagined that Hawke or Dom both would have driven like maniacs too. "I guess you're right about that."

Emily's little hand clenched on the bed and Caitlin reached over to take her hand. She seemed to be waking up from the medicine. "Hey, little bug," Caitlin said to her, using Hawke's nickname for the child.

"Mommy, I don't feel good," the child whispered and Marella reached for the emesis basin.

"Nausea is common with this type of thing," she said handing it over to Cait who raised the head of the bed a little more. They waited a few moments and Emily took a deep breath and sighed a little.

"Not so bad now," she whispered glad she hadn't gotten sick, she hated throwing up.

"We'll keep this close just in case, huh?" Caitlin offered, setting it on the table beside the bed. "Do you want a drink of water?"

The child nodded so they poured her a cup of water and Marella opened the straw for her. "Here you go, don't drink too fast."

Emily took several small sips and relaxed her head against the pillow.

"Are you in any pain, sweetie?" Marella asked.

"Not really, Aunt Marry I just feel weird," Emily said. Her body felt all floaty and her leg felt heavy and her head felt like she couldn't think.

"That is probably from the medicines they are giving you," she explained.

"I hope I didn't hurt the snake too bad," Emily said and Caitlin's eyes widened as she looked at the child.

"I'm sure he or she is just fine, sweetie. You just startled it when you stepped on them," Caitlin said unsure what else to really say. What a sweet thought to have after something so terrible, she's worried about the snake? Then again she and Le both loved animals.

"I know. I didn't mean to step on it like that. I didn't even see it, they never rattled either," Emily said groggily and Marella smiled at the sweet girl.

"Rattlesnakes usually use the rattle as a warning, sort of a hey you better get back or I'll bite you. They didn't see or feel you before it was too late. They don't like to bite people, they like mice and rabbits not humans to eat," Marella explained and Emily frowned.

"I don't like that they eat them but granny told me that it was important for animals like squirrels and mice and rabbits to have enemies like snakes and eagles and hawks to keep them from being a problem," Emily said, remembering what her grandmother had taught her about living on the mountain.

"That's right, it keeps everything in balance. And really, the house we are staying at is in their territory, they were here first so the occasional run in is going to happen sometimes. I just wish it hadn't hurt you, it is going to take a long time to heal," Caitlin explained to the child.

"Will I get ice cream?" Emily asked and Marella laughed along with Caitlin.

"I'm sure we can arrange that," Caitlin told the child.

Shortly after, the men all returned and as soon as Hawke saw that Emily was awake he went over and hugged and kissed the girl.

"I'm okay, daddy," she told him.

Le came over too and hugged her and presented her with a teddy bear they'd gotten in the gift shop.

"Oh, thank you, Le!" she said hugging it to her chest. Dom had some balloons and put them in the corner where she looked up at them. They were pink and green and said Get Well Soon on them. "Pretty balloons too, grandpa!"

The older man leaned down and kissed her forehead and told her that she gave them all a scare.

"It scared me too and hurted a lot!" she told him.

"I know, you aren't hurting, now right?"

"No, I feel all floaty and sleepy and my leg feels like someone is sitting on it," she said.

"That's from the swelling, hopefully that'll go down soon," Marella told her.

"I brought you a sandwich, Cait," Hawke told her and handed over the little package.

It was just a ham and cheese on wheat but Caitlin was thankful for it. She was starting to feel hungry.

"The nurse will probably bring you something to eat soon, Emily," Hawke told her and she sighed.

"I'm not that hungry," she admitted, her tummy still felt a little weird.

Michael squeezed Marella's shoulder and she looked up at him. They should probably go, so she leaned over and gave Emily a kiss on the cheek.

"You do what the doctors and nurses say. We'll come visit tomorrow but we have to get back to the office," Marella told her and even Michael leaned down and gave the child a kiss on the top of her dark hair.

"Get some rest so you'll heal faster," Michael told her with a little touch to the tip of her nose and Emily grinned tiredly up at him.

"Bye Aunt Marry and Uncle Michael, thank you for coming to see me," she told them and they both smiled as they left.

"I imagine you two are going to be spending the night here, why don't I take Le home with me? We'll be back in the morning and bring some things for Emily to play with, hmm?" Dom offered.

Le smiled. "I know just the things to bring. I'll bring my sketchbook too and you can tell me things to draw for you," Le told her as he went over to hug the girl. She kissed his cheek and he returned a kiss on her cheek.

Hawke thanked both Le and Dom and stepped out into the hall with them. "Will you grab some things for Cait and myself to wear? Also, grab her vitamins off the kitchen counter. She's been so tired I don't think she should miss a dose."

Dom told him sure and Hawke handed him the house key.

"Hang on a sec, Le," Hawke said and knelt down to look into the boy's eyes. "Caitlin told me how helpful you were, how you helped calm Emily in the car, how you held the dogs back and made the call to us at the hanger. I sometimes forget how young you are because you are such a mature kid. Caitlin and I both appreciate how much you did today and want you to know that we are both proud of you and love you as if you were our son," Hawke told the boy. Le's eyes looked damp and he nodded as he wrapped his arms around his uncle.

"I love you all too, Emily is like my little sister, I'd do anything for her. I wish the snake had bit me and not her," he whispered and Hawke just squeezed him tighter to him.

"I know. Now, you go spend the night with Grandpa and we'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Le nodded and let him go and Dom was smiling at Hawke. He couldn't be more proud of the man his youngest boy had become.

When Hawke stepped back into Emily's room, Caitlin had finished most of her sandwich and Emily was fighting falling back to sleep again.

"If you are sleepy go ahead and sleep, we'll wake you when they bring your dinner," Hawke told the little girl and she yawned and nodded at him. She snuggled the bear that Le brought her to her chest and closed her eyes.

Hawke sat down in the chair that Marella had been in and took Caitlin's hand in his. To be honest, he felt a bit helpless. Hawke was accustomed to fixing things, this he couldn't fix. He couldn't make it right, he couldn't catch the bad guy he couldn't do anything but wait for the medicine and Emily's immune system to do the rest.

"You've been awfully quiet, even for you," Caitlin said softly and he nodded.

"I feel kind of helpless," he admitted. "There isn't anything we can do to fix this but wait."

"You mean there isn't anything *you* can do to fix it. No one to go chasing after to make it right. It was just an accident and it looks like Emily is going to be okay. If she hasn't had any allergic reaction by now and no respiratory or bleeding issues she's going to be just fine. It'll take a while to heal completely but she's going to be okay," Caitlin said softly.

"Emotional pain we've handled before but physical pain…I can't help much with that," Hawke sighed.

"I know, I feel the same way. I am probably going to be a mess now anytime she wants to play outside too," Caitlin said with a sheepish look on her face.

"This wasn't your fault, it would have happened if I'd been there too. It wasn't something we could fully anticipate. Le was right there too, it could have been him instead of Emily or even one of the dogs, I think that would devastate the kids more if it had been one of the dogs. We'll have to just try to come up with some sort of plan for the kids. We can't keep them inside all the time," Hawke said trying to think of how to deal with everything once Emily was healed and back home.

"You're right. We want to protect them from everything but we can't, especially with how adventurous the two are. Le was amazing though, I seriously want you to sit down and have a talk with him. String, he was such a help to me," Caitlin told him and Hawke smiled.

"He really does have a good head on his shoulders for a kid his age. I talked to him in the hall earlier. I told him how proud we both are of him. I just hope he truly understands how much we appreciate him."

The rest of the afternoon and evening passed fairly uneventfully at the hospital. Emily didn't eat much of what they brought for dinner that night but one of the nurses brought her a popsicle when she came in to draw blood again and that seemed to cheer her a little. She was still in pain but the swelling had stopped which was a good sign. They gave her more pain medication and she fell asleep around nine in the evening again. They brought in a cot and Hawke helped Cait into Emily's bed and he took the cot. He watched over his two girls for quite a while before he finally managed to get a little sleep.


	28. Chapter 28

Emily was released from the hospital by the weekend and was doing pretty good all things considered. It still hurt quite a bit and she was still sleeping a lot but Le had been by her side every day at the hospital to play with her, draw pictures for her and try to keep her spirits up. Hawke and Caitlin couldn't imagine a better big brother for her than Le, he had truly stepped into the role and seemed to be thriving because of it.

Now that they were settled back at the house in Sun Valley, the kids were spending a lot of time in the living room, Emily with her little leg propped up on the couch and Le and her playing games and watching Sesame Street even though Le was too old for it, he still would sing the songs with Emily. He also read to her a lot which was fun to listen to because he would try to do voices for the characters.

Caitlin spent many of her days now just enjoying listening to them. She'd wanted to keep helping Dom since she couldn't be at the hanger right now so she had Hawke bringing home his ledgers. She would curl up in a chair and take care of the accounting work while the kids stayed right there where she could see them. She still wasn't comfortable letting them out of her sight these days.

The back door wasn't open much anymore either because Caitlin was still a little freaked out about the snake being so close to the house. The dogs didn't like it much but they were letting them out often enough. Tet seemed pretty content to lay on the couch next to Emily anyway and Sally would lay in the floor next to Le most of the time.

The phone rang next to Caitlin and she picked it up on the second ring. "Hawke residence," she answered.

"Well, hello Mrs. Hawke," her husband said over the line.

"Hello to you too Mr. Hawke, what's up?" she asked.

"I have to go over to Tala Star and see Michael, he said something about a potential mission. There is a hurricane building in the gulf, it is early in the season and NOAA is wanting to get some readings. Dom and I might be gone a couple of days though depending on how this thing develops," Hawke explained.

"A couple of days? Well, the kids and I will sure miss you. You guys be careful and call me whenever you can," Caitlin said sitting up a little straighter in her chair and setting the ledger aside. "Does Dom need to me to take the kids to watch the hanger?"

"Nah, Toni and Ev are going to watch over things, you and the kids just rest. Can I talk to them?" Hawke asked.

"Oh sure," Caitlin said. "Daddy wants to talk to you."

She handed the phone to Emily who greeted him with a happy hello.

"Hey, bug. How you feeling today?"

"I'm okay. Le and I have been playing word games," she told him and he laughed.

"That sounds fun. I wanted to tell you that I'm going to have to take a short trip for work, it'll only be a couple of days though. Grandpa Dom is going with me but we'll try to call a couple times a day to check in okay?" Hawke explained.

"Oh, you aren't coming home tonight?"

"No, not for a couple nights maybe we aren't sure but I'll miss you and be back as soon as I can, okay? I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy. You wanna talk to Le?"

"I sure do, you be good, bug," he told her and she said she would and then handed the phone to Le.

"You taking a trip, Uncle String?" Le asked getting the gist of the call from Caitlin and Emily's conversations.

"Yeah, I need you to take care of our girls for me while I'm gone. Grandpa Dom is coming with me but you know if you guys need anything at all to call Michael or Marella or even Doc if something happens, right?"

"Yep, I got it. What are you going to be doing?"

"It's with the Lady, monitoring a hurricane, we've done it before," Hawke told the boy truthfully.

"Well, be careful, it sounds like fun actually," Le said with a grin and Hawke laughed imagining the look on the boy's face.

"Yeah, it is kinda fun," Hawke admitted with a grin of his own. "We'll keep in touch while we're away. Just watch Cait, make sure she doesn't try to do too much. I love you, half-pint."

"I love you too, Uncle String. Stay safe and tell Grandpa we'll miss him too."

"Will do, kiddo. I uh, I need to tell Cait something."

"Sure," Le handed the phone back to Caitlin and she was smiling just from hearing the kids side of the conversation. Hawke had no idea what a great dad he'd become.

"You stay safe, just like Le said," Caitlin told him and he laughed.

"I will. You don't overdo it and don't worry. I love you," Hawke told her and she smiled.

"I love you too."

When she hung up Caitlin sighed heavily. This was going to be the first time they've slept apart, besides the night before their wedding, since Emily came into their lives six months ago. They knew it would be coming. They knew that with her pregnant if a mission came up that she couldn't have gone. She had trained some in the new engineering seat until Emily had gotten hurt and then she'd been home with the kids ever since.

She would love to be with him on this mission but Caitlin knew Dom would have his back and the new AI in the Lady would too with Karen back at Tala Star to monitor as well. Riding through a hurricane even without her having morning sickness much would probably not go well.

Back at Tala Star, Karen as inputting data into Airwolf's computers when Hawke and Dom came in wearing their flightsuits. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I've just finished uploading everything you need. We have the dropsonde units in place and you'll be taking live readings for us as well. The Air Force Hurricane Hunters will be working in tandem with you. They've asked if you'll be able to measure the eyewall more than twice a regular mission if possible, I know you've done it before in the Lady but you'll need to run the route four times at least. The winds are already picking up quite a bit at last report. You'll refuel here," she said pointing to a map at a location just south of New Orleans.

"So, we'll be flying the main "fix" mission?" Hawke asked.

"Yep. The 53rd has already done two fix missions but their planes are starting to see too many G's to be safe. Airwolf has the structural integrity needed for this storm. The last flight that they attempted this morning had to turn back, it shook so hard and killed one engine that they had no choice. Hopefully it'll slow a bit by the time you get there, you'll be doing the one closest to landfall. I'll be feeding all the coordinates to the engineering station. You'll run the standard alpha pattern but we may need to extend the 105 nautical miles because of how big this storm is. It is a category 4 right now but it is looking like she might kick up to a 5 soon before she slows again, they are predicting she'll landfall at a high 3. She's more than 300 miles across right now," Karen explained. "Airwolf is the only one with air refueling capabilities, that is why they've asked for us. The 53rd needs more air time and they are a plane down now, so we're it."

"Hurricane Kristen is starting to sound pretty scary," Dom said with a sigh. He wasn't terribly worried about the Lady handling it, he knew she could and he knew Hawke could pilot her better than anyone. His worry was the hurricane making landfall and what it was going to do to the Gulf Coast. If she kept up these wind speeds it was going to be bad.

"We've done this plenty of times before, Dom," Hawke said with a shrug. "This time we have Karen to back us up here at base too." He was concerned when he looked at the G's the P-3 had to fight on its morning run but Airwolf was rated for higher and he could always pull up above the storm where they couldn't their ceiling was 30,000 feet but the Lady could hit the stratosphere, so if they need to get out of Dodge they can always climb above her. Only one hurricane hunter had ever gone down in a storm and that was in the 1950s and the Lady wasn't an average machine.

"What about after the storm passes?" Hawke asked, echoing Dom's thoughts.

Karen sighed. "I don't know, if it makes landfall a high 3 or above it could be really bad. Dom would Santini Air come in and do search and rescue out of Keesler?"

"Of course, we would," Dom said with a shrug.

"I could call Doc and see if he'll come down, Toni could fly in Caitlin's place since she is having to take care of Emily," Hawke offered.

"Having a medic would help, too bad Caitlin can't join you though. How is Emily doing now?" Karen asked as they walked out to Airwolf.

"She is sore and tired of the couch but Le is keeping her spirits up," Hawke explained, touched that Karen asked after the little girl. "She starts physical therapy next week."

"Poor thing, I'm glad it wasn't worse though," Karen said knowing it could have been really bad.

The two pilots did the preflight exterior checks and soon the hiss of Airwolf's doors was loud in the Tala Star hanger as Hawke and Dom got into the Lady. They completed the preflight checks, confirmed with the tower and gave their flightplan. Within minutes, Karen was online with them at her computer with the rest of her team and Airwolf was screaming toward the Gulf of Mexico.

It was always strange flying into a storm system of any kind, all this beautiful sky, blue with fluffy clouds and then this wall of dark grey clouds, lightening and you are going to fly right into it. It is different than driving into it on the ground.

Airwolf was already recording temperature, pressure, humidity and wind speeds as they approached the Gulf. They were measuring normal conditions and then conditions as they approach and then enter the storm. They'd be dropping the dropsondes along their flightpath which would measure everything from a vertical drop to the sea surface.

The outer rain bands were usually not that bad until you hit near the eyewall and then things would start to get hairy. Then the eye itself is gorgeous with a tenth of the atmosphere you'd see normally. It was always an eerie experience but they'd done this several times now. A P-3 was generally best for these missions with 4 engines, planes were made to take high winds but this storm was just beyond their capabilities. Airwolf would be pushing hers in some gusts because a helicopter was much different than a plane but her Mach rating made it a totally different situation. No one would ever, ever, ever fly a normal helicopter in a hurricane.

"Jesus, String this thing is huge," Dom said from his seat where he was seeing the radar imagery.

"Yeah, definitely the biggest storm we've flown through. The winds aren't any worse than the last one we did but the sheer size of this puppy, that's part of why they asked for us since we can punch back out of the storm and refuel unlike the Air Force planes," Hawke answered.

"Tala Star to Whiskey Romeo 2," they heard Karen on the radio.

"This is Whiskey Romeo 2," Hawke answered.

"Hawke, we are getting all of your readings and all is looking good. When you enter the outermost rain bands you'll want to drop your first dropsonde about a mile in. The second at the 25-mile mark and every 25 miles plus one in the eye. You'll need to stay in the eye for at least 30 minutes before you punch back through and start the drops again on that leg. We are showing that the storm cloud tops are hitting 46000 feet right now," she relayed the details to him and Dom locked in the drop signals.

"Got them locked in, drops at 1 mile and every 25 miles thereafter," Dom said as he worked the new console.

"Stay safe, Whiskey Romeo 2," she said.

"Will do, Tala Star."

"Well, here we go, 12 hours of flying a big ass A through a hurricane," Hawke commented and Dom laughed as they started to enter the outermost rain bands.

The updrafts and downdrafts going into the storm made it feel a bit like a roller coaster ride. Thankfully neither he or Dom was prone to air sickness but Hawke was kind of glad he hadn't had lunch before they left.

Airwolf was shaking pretty hard from the turbulence but not any worse than they'd flown in before. It wasn't the wind speed so much as the size of this storm, it was going to affect a lot of people on the ground because of the sheer massiveness and it was looking like the eye they hadn't reached yet was showing very low pressure. It was building a hell of a storm surge.

"This hurricane is going to cause a lot of damage in multiple states," Hawke said as he braced for an upcoming draft on the windspeed instruments.

"Yeah, even if she slows before making landfall the surge and the amount of area she'll cover is going to make the emergency response difficult," Dom admitted.

Airwolf was an amazing machine and with some of the new upgrades Hawke was finding it far easier to control her in the intense weather than he had in past storms they'd flown in. She was able to process each of the updrafts or downdrafts moments before they felt them and was able to adjust power and engine speeds to help Hawke ride out the turbulence. It made for a far less tiring battle with the cyclic for him and he was surprised by it.

"The new AI is really making it a lot easier for me to make adjustments in all this turbulence," Hawke mentioned to Dom.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. She's getting the readings before we feel it so she's compensating. How are you feeling about that?" Dom asked.

"Pretty good, she's making it easier on my physically," Hawke said. Usually at this time in a storm he is nearly dying to get in the eye to take a breather but he wasn't feeling as much fatigue as usual.

"Looks like we'll be punching through the eyewall in about 2 hours," Dom said.

"All right, just keep dropping the monitors and let me know of any major wind speed changes I'm having a hard time seeing some of the readings up here," Hawke told him. The turbulence wasn't horrible but it was enough to make reading his instruments a little difficult.

As they flew onward toward the eye the updrafts and downdrafts increased along with more and more intense rain. They were flying on instruments alone now because there was no way to see anything but grey clouds and rain.

"We have readings over 200 miles per hour coming up and then should punch through the eyewall," Dom told him and Hawke tried to brace himself for what he knew was going to be a bumpy ride.

Suddenly they were dropped several feet from a downdraft and then as if they were being spit through a straw they came out into the eye. The bright sunlight after the dark of the storm was blinding and Hawke had to shut his eyes a moment. They were watering a bit when he opened them but it was a beautiful sight. It was incredible, smooth and easy flying now with a perfect circle of blue sky above with a surreal stadium like effect where the clouds extended thousands of feet above them.

Hawke transmitted back to Karen that they were in the eye now and they were dropping monitors and taking readings before they would pass back out. The eye itself was 53 miles in diameter which was larger than most but not by too much. The time in the eye gave them a chance to relax a little bit, Airwolf just taking all the readings and giving them a chance to get their bearings before heading through the eyewall again. They had to do it four more times.

The sea below them was churning wildly, some of the waves reaching as high as 50 feet according to their readings. Hawke sure wouldn't want to be stuck in a boat in that.

Airwolf herself calculated the best time to exit the eyewall based on wind speed data and relayed it onto both Hawke and Dom's screens.

"Would you look at that? Our Lady has figured out where it is safest for us to re-enter the storm," Dom said impressed. He reached out and patted the top of his console as if thanking her.

"All right, then let's get going again," Hawke said as they began following the new coordinates.

They spent 12 hours mapping the storm and once they landed at Kessler a P-3 was already on the runway about to head back into the storm they'd just left. This was what would be done until after the storm made landfall.

They were both starving and exhausted as they entered the hanger. Major Kendrick met them and shook his head. "You flew through that storm in a helicopter?"

"She's not a regular helicopter, Major, I think they told you that," Hawke said with a laugh.

"They did and I thought they were nuts, she's a beauty though," the major said and they smiled at him.

"She is that, our Lady is absolutely gorgeous," Dom said with a wide smile.

"Well, I imagine you gentlemen are ready to eat and rest. Come on, we've got a cafeteria and we've got you a room to use. Understand you are both search and rescue certified, are you going to be staying for after she makes landfall?" Kendrick asked as he led the men inside the building.

"I think we are going to take our Lady home and come back with rescue choppers, yeah. This storm is going to affect a lot of people," Dom explained.

"Yeah, and I did promise my kids I'd see them in a few days. At least I can get back, see them and head back out. My little girl has been real sick," Hawke explained.

"Oh, man I'm sorry to hear that Captain Hawke," Kendrick said. "You mind me asking what she has?"

"Rattlesnake bite," Hawke told him with a frown.

"Oh, God, wow, I thought you were going to say something like an illness. How the hell did that happen?"

"She stepped on it in the back yard of all things. My wife is pregnant on top of that, scared the holy hell out of her and my nephew who lives with us. They handled it on their own too, I was at work and she got her to the hospital in less than 10 minutes from the time she was bitten. Emily, my daughter, she's going to be okay though. The speed of getting her to the hospital and the fact the snake didn't completely envenomate her made a huge difference but she's still on mostly bedrest until next week," Hawke explained as they entered the cafeteria.

"That's freakin' scary, man. Glad she's doing okay though. What kind of rattler? We get timber ones here," Kendrick asked as they went to the chow line.

"Sidewinder, it could have been a lot worse. If it had been a Mojave we might have lost her," Hawke said as he grabbed a tray.

"I know it added a whole bunch of new gray hairs to my head," Dom said seriously.

"You guys been working together a long time?" Kendrick asked.

"Dom's well…might as well be my dad, he raised me and my brother since we were kids," Hawke explained.

"Family business huh?" the major said with a laugh and they laughed with him in agreement.

"Something like that, my wife's a pilot too," Hawke said as they went down the chow line. "If she wasn't pregnant and Emily wasn't sick she'd probably have been with me today."

Dom was a little surprised at how much Hawke was talking, usually he didn't say much and Dom did all the talking in situations like this but Hawke was just a chatterbox today.

"Wow, my wife sure wouldn't want to fly into one of these. I keep trying to tell her it is safer in the storm flying than it is on the ground riding it out," Kendrick told them.

"Even some pilots I know wouldn't want to do it either, just the idea of flying INTO something so dangerous just puts people off," Hawke said with a shrug.

Hawke got the fish meal the little sign said it was straight from the Gulf and vegetables and Dom got meatloaf and potatoes which made the younger man shake his head.

"We're on the Gulf of Mexico and you get meatloaf," Hawke teased him and Dom just gave him a dirty look and the major laughed and followed them to a table.

"If you want to call your wife and kids after you eat, we've got phones for you to use," Kendrick told them.

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Hawke told him as they dug into their meal. It was odd, usually he didn't talk much especially to a stranger but Hawke wanted to talk about his family. He missed them and talking about them made him feel better. Now he understood all those guys he knew who talked so much about their families that used to annoy him. Now he was the annoying guy talking about his. He almost laughed at himself.

Dom and Kendrick struck up a conversation about the storm and they found out he'd run one of the earlier fix missions when the storm hit Barbados earlier in the week.

After their dinner, the major took Hawke to where he could make his phone call home and took Dom to their room and gave Hawke directions to it.

When Caitlin picked up the phone she was thrilled to hear Hawke's voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey, baby, how are you and the kids?" Hawke asked, happy to hear her voice. They hadn't been apart since December and it was hard knowing he'd have to sleep alone tonight.

"We are good, even better hearing your voice and that you are back on land. How'd it go? Any problems?" she asked.

"Nope, it was actually an easier time than I thought it would be, the new systems on the Lady really helped during the turbulence. As Le would say, it was very cool," Hawke said with a laugh. "She would get the readings before the wind shear would hit and adjust the engines automatically which made it much easier on me physically. I wasn't fighting the cyclic near as much because of it."

"Oh, that really is cool," Caitlin said, happy that he'd had that extra bit of help from the Lady.

"Cait, this storm is huge, really huge it is going to affect a large area of the Gulf region. Dom and I were thinking of doing search and rescue after it hits, we are going to rest a little and then fly back. I'll see the kids and you and then we are going to come back down here to a safe zone until the storm passes and then help with the search and rescue ops," Hawke explained. "I miss you guys terribly but there are going to be a lot folks in need of help."

"Oh, of course. I sure wish I could help too but with Emily still on bedrest I don't feel comfortable leaving her with anyone, not even Meg," Caitlin answered.

"I know. But you don't need the extra stress right now anyway. Could you call Doc for me though? I bet he'd be willing to come down, we could use a good medic," Hawke told her.

"Oh yes I'll do that for you. Do you want to talk to the kids? They will be going to bed soon," Caitlin said and Hawke smiled though she couldn't see it. He'd forgotten the time difference between Mississippi and California. He had thought it might be too late to talk to the kids.

"Yeah, I've missed them. I ended up chatting up Major Kendrick about you and the kids because I missed you all so much it just came flooding out. Dom was looking at me like I'd lost my mind," he said with a laugh.

Caitlin thought that was probably the sweetest thing she ever heard. Hawke was not a big talker with strangers. It sort of reminded her of her dad, he didn't say much but when he got to talking about his family he couldn't stop.

"We've missed you too, the kids were a bit sad at dinner, missing you. Hang on a sec, I'm in the kitchen," she said as she walked with the cordless phone out to the living room.

"Daddy's on the phone," she said and smiled when Emily perked up from her spot on the couch with a big smile.

The little girl took the phone. "Hi, daddy! We missed you so much at dinner. Mommy has been watching the Weather Channel about the storm you went to track. It sounds scary, were you scared?"

Hawke laughed. "No, I wasn't scared. We were safe but it is a big storm that is going to be very dangerous for people on land. That was why we were out there tracking it so that we could give warnings to the people on land so they know where the storm is headed and how much water and wind will come."

"You and Grandpa are helping people so even though I miss you, I'm glad you are doing something so good," the little girl said and Hawke found himself smiling proudly.

"Thank you, I miss you too, bug. How are you feeling?"

"Still a little sore, hurts when I move my leg too much but I get tired of sitting in the same spot all the time. My butt hurts," she said.

Hawke absolutely cracked up at that and could hear Caitlin and Le laughing in the background too.

"Well I think that was a little more information than I needed, kiddo. I love you and I'll see you when I get home tomorrow. How about you put Le on?"

"Okay, love you too, daddy," she said and handed the phone to a still giggling Le.

"Hi, Uncle String. Like Emily said, we missed you at dinner," he said.

"Oh good, I thought you were going to say your butt hurt too," Hawke teased and Le just about cackled into the phone. "I miss all of you too. How's Caitlin holding up?"

"Oh, just fine. I helped with dinner tonight and did the dishes for her. Her back was hurting some. Emily and I played some video games earlier before we turned it to the weather station to see how the storm reports were. It sounds like you had a busy day," Le said.

"Yeah, a long one, 12 hours flying in that storm. It wasn't too bad, a lot like a really long roller coaster ride but the eye was beautiful," Hawke told him, knowing the boy enjoyed science. "We got all kinds of readings from the instruments we dropped into the storm."

"That's really cool. Is Santini Air going to help with the rescue efforts like the earthquake?"

"Yeah, we'll be home tomorrow but we'll leave out with supplies and the full team to help after it passes. The amount of rain and storm surge they expect is going to cause a lot of flooding and possible air rescues," Hawke told him.

"Okay, wish I could come help," Le said with a sigh and Hawke smiled.

"Maybe when you get a little older, half-pint," he told him. "You take care of the girls for me. I love you, kiddo."

"Love you too, here's Aunt Cait again," Le said handing the phone over again.

"You get some rest and be careful on your way back home," Caitlin told him and he smiled.

"You get some rest too, Le said your back was hurting."

"Just normal back pain for a pregnant lady is all," Caitlin said lightly.

"All right, well. I'm going to go see if I can catch a few hours sleep before we head back. I love you, Cait."

"I love you too, tell Dom hi for all of us."

"I will, see you tomorrow."

Hawke felt a lot better after talking to his family and headed back to where Kendrick had told him the rooms were. He ended up running into the man in the hallway.

"Family doing well, especially your little girl?"

"Yep, they are. My daughter complained about the bed rest so she's doing a lot better," Hawke said with a laugh.

"That's good to hear. I hope she makes a full recovery. Thanks again for coming out to help us since we were a plane down. We all really appreciate the NRO's help. The data you guys collected is being processed now, you got some really great readings," he told Hawke.

"Oh good. Glad to help. We'll be coming back to the safe zone probably the day after tomorrow if the storm keeps its track and doesn't stall so we can help with the rescue. We'll have a couple others with us to help out," Hawke told him.

"That's great news, we appreciate it! I better get back to my room myself and get some rest, I've got another mission to rest up for in the morning."

They said goodnight and Hawke headed to the room he was sharing with Dom.

When he got inside he saw the older man had already showered and was sitting on his bed in a t-shirt and pajama pants.

"How's the family?" Dom asked as soon as he entered.

"Good, they all send their love. Cait's having a little back pain, Emily is tired of bedrest and Le has been helping out as much as he can. He even helped Cait with dinner and did the dishes for her. Emily said her butt hurts from the bedrest, cracked all of us up."

Dom laughed heartily too. "That girl is something else. I'm just so proud of Le. When Sinjin gets home he is going to be one proud papa I think."

"He has plenty to be proud of Le about. I don't want this to sound bad but I wish we could keep Le even if Sinj comes home," Hawke admitted.

"Oh, I hadn't really thought of that. If Sinjin has been a prisoner all this time though, he won't be ready to take Le right away, ya know? Hell, he may need to stay in your guest room too, he may not be ready for life here now. It may be quite an adjustment for him and may take some time," Dom said reasonably.

"Yeah, he could have some medical issues too that'll have to be taken care of as well. We just don't know what all he's been through so *when* he comes home we'll cross that bridge when we come to it I guess," Hawke said with a sigh.

"That's right, *when* he comes home we will. Now go grab you a shower so you can get some shut eye," Dom told him.


	29. Chapter 29

Alexander Hamilton once wrote: "The roaring of the sea and wind, fiery meteors flying about it in the air, the prodigious glare of almost perpetual lightning, the crash of the falling houses, and the ear-piercing shrieks of the distressed, were sufficient to strike astonishment into Angels."

That would have been a fitting description of Hurricane Kristen's destruction, Hawke thought. When the team had returned to the area after the worst of the storm had dissipated, flying search and rescue was like flying in a war zone, just without enemy fire.

It was surreal, entire blocks of houses without roofs and flooding as far inland as 10 miles in some areas. The team lost count how many rescues, supply runs and medevacs they performed over the course of the next four days. The storms destruction went further inland than they first thought it might because it picked up to a Category 4 just before landfall, causing more flooding than anticipated. In a single word, it was apocalyptic.

Toni, Doc, Dom and himself worked with a small team Michael had sent from Tala Star which coordinated with the Air Force at Kessler. Even the airbase took damage. Communication was spotty because so many phone lines were down so Hawke had relayed messages home via Tala Star, not wanting to tie up a sat phone that might be used for more important things. Caitlin and the kids would listen to his messages that Karen would call them with and send their own back.

The TV at home was almost constantly on the weather station following the storms aftermath and they even glimpsed a Santini Air JetRanger in some of the footage. They weren't sure who was piloting it though but it wasn't hard to spot the patriotic helicopter. It had really excited the kids.

It was hot and steamy after the storm; the forecasters and news people went on about the elderly without power and how dangerous it was for them. Hawke's family was proud of him, Dom and the others for what they were doing to help everyone there.

Emily had started physical therapy and though she was in some pain she seemed happier now that she could get up and move around more. She missed her daddy terribly though and so did Caitlin and Le. They couldn't wait until he came back home.

For Hawke, it was unusual to have such a driving desire to go home. He'd done rescue before, had spent days on end doing this sort of stuff and never had this longing to go home before. It was a new experience for him having so much waiting for him. A wife, children, a baby on the way, hell he missed the dogs too. Now he understood the other men who had those things waiting at home. They didn't want to shortchange the people they were helping but now he understood their need to get the job done and go home. Especially after the devastation they witnessed, they (including himself) wanted to go home and kiss their wives and hug their kids.

Earlier that day he and Doc had rescued a small family out of a flooded-out neighborhood. It was a woman and two kids, one still in diapers. Her husband was missing. He had gone to help an elderly relative and not come back. They weren't sure if he was stuck with the relative or if something worse had happened. Hawke had asked where her husband had gone and she gave him an address. He and Doc dropped them at the airbase where a shelter had been set up and they headed back out to see if they could find the man. They did, he was on the second floor of a flooded home with a bedridden uncle who was in desperate need of medical treatment. Doc and the man, named Derrek had gotten the older man, his Uncle Fred up to the roof, they'd had to break through with an axe.

It took almost two hours to get there, get the men out and get back to the base and they were practically running on fumes by then but made it.

When they got the man back to his family, Hawke had felt a lump in his throat the size of a grapefruit from witnessing the emotional reunion.

Just as he and Doc started to head back to the chopper the little boy named Jimmy came running up to him. He thanked him for bringing his daddy home and hugged him and Doc both. Hawke had nearly broken down at that, he reminded him so much of Le.

Once they were back in the chopper, Doc looked at him. "Well that made all of this more than worth it, didn't it?"

Hawke nodded and cleared his throat. "Yeah, that kid reminded me of Le too. Doc, I miss the hell out of them. I never thought I'd feel like this."

Doc smiled at his friend and patted him on the shoulder. "Life has a funny way of creeping up on you like that. I'm missing Max like you wouldn't believe. I've gone away plenty of times on charity missions and stuff but it gets harder and harder to leave every time. You might have the right idea, Hawke. I may just need to marry her and get a start on that family we've talked about. Seeing that family today, the love and the worry and all made it more real for me, ya know?"

"Kind of like that story I read hit me?"

"Exactly like that. Life is too short to keep putting things off until tomorrow," Doc said.

Hawke smiled, that is what he had learned last winter and hadn't regretted it a moment since.

"Well come on, let's see if we can get some more happy endings like that," Hawke said as he started the preflight checks to take to the air once again. The Air Force team had already refueled them and Doc got on the radio and asked for the next mission, they were relayed coordinates for the next emergency call and were soon off again.

Hawke would be coming home this morning and Caitlin was rushing around the house trying to get Emily and herself ready until Le told her he could help. He made them breakfast which was just cereal and some fruit she always kept cut up in the fridge for snacks but it saved her having to do it or cook.

Emily was still trying to learn to use her crutches, they had to do a minor amount of surgery to remove dead skin around the puncture wounds but thankfully none of the muscle was affected. She could have skin grafts or just live with the scars, it was up to her but she hadn't decided yet. She kind of thought the scar might be cool. Le told her he'd keep the scar but he was a boy, he didn't wear dresses and stuff to look pretty. He said when she got older she might want to have the scar hidden because of that. She still wasn't sure what she thought about it.

So, Caitlin was braiding Emily's hair while the girl brushed her teeth and then they were soon downstairs. Le had everything set out on the bar and they poured the milk and ate their breakfasts.

Caitlin was famished this morning for some reason, she guessed the baby was hungry or something so she ate a little more than usual which made Le laugh when she poured more cereal into her bowl to finish up her milk.

"What?"

"I've never seen you get seconds on anything. Baby making you hungry?" Le asked.

"Oh, gosh yes," she admitted. "I think I've grown three inches since String left," she said remembering that she could not wear even her largest jeans anymore. She was in maternity clothing now for sure. She had on a navy-blue dress with a white bow at the chest. There was no mistaking she was pregnant now. It was amazing how quickly her body was changing. In just a week and a half she was already starting to look much more round that was for sure.

"Everyone ready?" she asked as they put their bowls in the dishwasher.

"Yep!" Emily said as Le helped her down from her stool and handed her the crutches.

"I already fed and watered the dogs and let them out for their morning run while you all were getting ready, so we're set," Le told them.

"Oh, thank you, Le," Caitlin said with relief and hugged him with a kiss on his forehead. She thought for a moment he might have grown a bit, she didn't have to bend down quite so far to kiss his forehead.

"Come on, let's get to the hanger to see daddy and grandpa and your aunts and uncles," she said.

The kids headed out to the car and they were off for the 20-minute ride to Santini Air.

Hawke honestly couldn't wait to get to Van Nuys, once they crossed into California airspace he pushed the JetRanger even more, pulling as much speed from the engines as possible. Doc who was riding with him laughed and Hawke just grinned at him. The two young men wanted to get home. Doc had picked up an engagement ring in Biloxi in fact and couldn't wait to get back up to Crystal Lake.

Little did he know that Maxine had already come down to the hanger to greet him this morning. She left one of her employees in charge and came down because she'd missed Doc terribly.

"String, you realize that chopper isn't the Lady, right?" Dom said over the radio.

"So, I want to get home, Dom, don't you?" Hawke said into the radio.

"Sure, sure I do. I'd like an intact engine when I get there too," Dom grumbled at him but thought it was funny how much Hawke wanted to get home. The young man had been different on this mission than in the past. Now that he had people at home, a family he loved and missed the young man had been chomping at the bit to get back to them.

It seemed like Hawke had talked to anyone who'd listen about his family and really listened when other guys talked about theirs at the airbase. The guys even shared pregnancy stories with him and warned him of cravings and mood swings and back aches and swollen feet. It was funny watching them in a cafeteria and break area because his boy really seemed to pay attention. Oddly enough, Doc did too come to think of it.

When the five helicopters cleared into the airport and three headed for the Santini Air hanger and the other two for Tala Star it was a feeling of pure joy that ran through all of them. They were home. As much as they loved their work and loved helping people, this was where they belonged.

Hawke and Doc's chopper landed first followed by Dom and Toni in each of theirs. They barely had everything shut down when they saw the group in the hanger doorway. Caitlin and the kids were smiling and waving and even Maxine was there! Doc jumped out at the same time Hawke did and they ran in the light rain to their loved ones.

Caitlin was really starting to show, Hawke realized as the dress she wore was caught by the wind and he could see the baby bump clearly. His heart jumped in his chest as he realized how much he loved that woman and that baby inside her. Emily looked happy, standing with her crutches and he could swear Le was taller.

His arms wrapped around Caitlin, tight but not too tight, he didn't want to squash the baby after all but the kiss was anything but light. They let each other know just how much they missed each other with their passionate kiss. Emily didn't even make a face at Le this time about their kiss.

Doc had run straight into Maxine's waiting arms too. "Max, what are you doing here?"

"I missed you and wanted to welcome you home," she said with a smile.

Their kiss was passionate as well, almost forgetting the world around them until they heard Emily squeal when Hawke picked the girl up.

Doc drew back to look at Max and then heard Dom and Toni greeting the others. Why wait? They had family and friends here.

Suddenly, he released Max and dropped to one knee as he withdrew a small black velvet box from his pocket. "I was going to wait to do this at the Inn but…I'm tired of waiting. Maxine Dayton will you marry me?"

Max just stood there with a shocked look on her face for about two seconds and then suddenly shouted "Yes! A thousand times yes!"

Everyone was laughing and smiling as Doc put the ring on her finger and then stood and kissed her deeply.

"I guess you couldn't wait any longer then?" Hawke asked with a grin.

"Nope, man I'm glad you came down to greet me," Doc said kissing Max on the cheek. She was admiring the ring on her finger and Caitlin and Toni came over to see it.

"Oh, what a lovely ring," Caitlin said. "Congratulations, Max I'm so happy for you both."

Toni smiled as well. "That is a nice rock, Max. I guess he was thinking about you a lot while he was away," she said with a grin.

"I'm so surprised by it but at the same time we've been together for years so I should have assumed one day," Max said a little dazed.

"So, you gona do a short engagement like Cait here?" Toni asked.

"I don't know, Doc and I need to discuss it but I do weddings all the time, it might be fun to just elope," Max said with a laugh.

Both women gave her a hug and Toni looked at Caitlin. "You are really starting to show now," she commented. "Looks good on ya, Cait."

She thanked the other woman and Toni headed into the hanger to the ladies' room. It had been a long flight and she'd regretted that second cup of coffee the last 100 miles.

Dom gave both Doc and Max hugs and told them how happy he was for them.

They needed to get back to Crystal Lake and Hawke and his family needed to get home too. They made plans to get together to celebrate their engagement soon.

Within the next hour, Hawke was finally back at the house in Sun Valley with his family. He'd settled on the couch with Caitlin on one side of him and Emily in his lap with Le right up against him on the other side. Emily told him it was a daddy sandwich and he laughed at her.

They spent the rest of day asking Hawke about the rescue missions and even some more he hadn't shared with them about the 'fix' mission in the storm itself. He tried to do justice to explaining what that was like but it was hard to find all the right words to describe it, especially the time inside the eye.


	30. Chapter 30

The end of July was nearing and Caitlin was now almost 6 months pregnant. She wasn't nearly as fatigued as she had been but her back was starting to bother her a lot more. Sitting or standing in one place too long would make her back hurt but it was all normal according to the doctor. They now knew they were having a boy. Caitlin and Hawke had both wanted to know at her last visit so now they knew and it was certain, the baby was turned just right for them to see it was most certainly a boy.

They looked at the names the kids had marked and both Caitlin and Hawke really liked the name that Le had picked out. Jameson Elias Hawke. So, now that the cabin renovations were starting to finally wrap up, they knew what colors to use in the nursery. They ended up adding 3 bedrooms to the cabin, one for Le, one for Emily and a third room as a guest room or for when more kids came along. The bedrooms were large enough that Emily could share hers or Le could share his so it would all work out they thought. The laundry was now expanded, they had a downstairs bathroom and the nursery was almost done. It looked good too, Zach and his team had done a great job making the new addition match the old cabin. They'd be moving back just before the kids started school.

It would be Emily's first year of school and she was all excited about it, though she hated that she and Le wouldn't be at the same school.

One night the family sat down to talk about school and about plastic surgery on her leg. They needed to decide on that now before she started school so she would have time to heal.

Le was in the big chair in the living room with Emily tucked in with him and Hawke was sitting on the couch with Cait's feet in his lap. They'd been swelling some and he was rubbing them absently for her as they talked to the kids.

"So, have you decided what you want to do about the scar on your leg?" Hawke asked the girl.

"I dunno, it doesn't seem so bad and I think it is kinda cool. I mean, how many people can say they were bit by a rattlesnake? Plus, it'll take even more time to heal. I'm tired of healing." Emily said with an impish grin.

Hawke figured some of that was Le talking and not really Emily though. The scaring wasn't horrible but she had two divots in her leg and a raised bumpy scar between them where the poison and fangs had damaged the skin so much it had to be surgically removed.

"Well, some girls might not want a scar like that. What is your opinion, Cait?" Hawke asked, hoping she had some insight he didn't.

"I think it is up to Emily, I think people are too superficial anyway, if someone can't overlook a scar they aren't really worth knowing," Caitlin said with a shrug. "So, if she doesn't want to endure another surgery then I'm with her on it. Besides, she's so young and small now as she grows older the scar will likely fade some on its own. I have a few that are practically invisible now."

"All right then, I guess the topic is closed. Emily gets to keep her scar," Hawke said teasingly as if he were a judge and even rapped on the end table.

Caitlin shoved his thigh with her foot and laughed at him.

Le even grinned, getting the gist of what Hawke meant, though Emily didn't really understand. "Now, what was that I heard you saying the other night about school?" He'd overheard the kids talking while they were playing in the floor.

"I'm looking forward to school but I hate that Le and I won't be at the same school. Why do we have to be at different schools?" Emily complained.

"Uh, well, they don't have all the age groups at the same schools anymore," Hawke said. "Unless we put you kids in a private school, a small one like the one that Dom's friend Sister Margarite runs. I don't think Le wants to leave his friends though. That wouldn't be fair to him."

"Actually, Uncle String I wouldn't mind a different school. I don't have that many friends and I'd like to be there for Emily if she needs me," Le said as he looked up at the man. "Emily is always getting into something anyway."

Emily shoved him and stuck her tongue out at Le and he stuck his out at her making her laugh. Hawke and Caitlin were both grinning at them. "I'm not a religious person but I suppose you'd get a good education there. It is a very good school from what I've heard."

Emily got excited, her friend Melanie would be going to that school too. "Oh, oh, Melanie will be going there too!"

"Oh, well that would be great, wouldn't it? It is a good school too. They have some of the top SAT scores in the state from what the local paper says. The class sizes are small which helps too, that way the teachers can focus on the kids more. Can we switch them to the school? It isn't far from the hanger either which would be nice," Caitlin said, "It would be a little expensive but if the kids would be happier and if their education would be better it would be worth it."

"Not worried about the expense really, we'll figure that part out. I just want you kids to be happy. Le, if you really don't mind switching schools we can do this," Hawke said with a shrug. "We can go tomorrow and talk to them about registering you both. Since we've done a lot of volunteer work with them I'm sure you'd get in."

"Yay!" Emily cheered happily and Le laughed. "Thanks, Uncle String. I think we'd be happier at the same school."

"Then it's a done deal. How about some of that apple pie Cait made with ice cream now?" Hawke offered and both kids were trying to get out of the chair at the same time while the adults laughed.

"You just stay here, mama. I'll bring yours to you," he offered.

"Can you sprinkle some extra cinnamon on top?" she asked and he kissed her.

"Will do," he agreed as he followed the kids into the kitchen. At least she didn't ask for anything weird like pickles, he thought as got the pie from where it had been cooling. Le was getting the ice cream and Emily had gotten bowls and utensils.

Meanwhile, Caitlin was sitting on the couch with her hand on her belly and smiling to herself. Hawke really was a terrific dad. She was a little worried about the money for the school, it wasn't cheap but she knew they were doing pretty well now with what Tala Star was paying them on top of what they made at Santini Air. Once they moved back to the cabin they'd have less expenses too that they could use for the kid's education so things would work out. Plus, they both had some savings if they needed it. The thing she loved the most was his including the kids in the decisions and not just making them for them like some parents do. She supposed Dom was probably like that with the boys since he wasn't their actual father so he'd ask them their suggestions and what they wanted more than most parents.

A few weeks later the family was moved back into the cabin and the kids had started school. Caitlin was back at the hanger full time too, except for Tuesday and Thursday when she had her classes. She'd fallen behind a little but got caught back up fairly quickly. The professor had been very understanding what with Emily's accident, Hawke being out of town and her pregnancy.

She would officially no longer be able to fly starting the week of August 29, so Caitlin did beg a few small flights out of Dom before then. Only planes though, he wouldn't allow her to fly helicopters because of having to pull herself in or jump out. So, he had her on the Cessna or the Gulf Stream for executives only.

Doc and Max had decided to elope after all and asked Cait and Hawke to go with them to be their witnesses. So, they left the kids with Dom and flew up to Vegas with their friends for a weekend. It gave the couple some alone time too and the parents to be spent quite a bit of time in bed after Doc and Max went on their little honeymoon.

Hawke had discovered that he loved touching Caitlin's tummy, talking to the baby, following it with his hand as the baby moved and kicked. Pregnancy sex wasn't bad either he discovered. He'd never, ever given it any thought before but it was just as exciting.

The couple was in a great mood when they got back to Van Nuys that Sunday afternoon and Dom and the kids were at the hanger waiting on them to arrive. He'd taken them to the county fair and the kids still seemed to be wired.

"Just how much cotton candy did Emily eat?" Hawke asked as the little girl ran around the hanger with Le playing tag.

"Aww, she's just energetic. You know how she is," Dom said with a wave of his hand.

"Oh geez," Hawke muttered knowing that Dom wasn't telling him the truth as they waited on Caitlin to come back from the bathroom. She was having to make more frequent bathroom trips lately, the baby kept laying on her bladder.

They were surprised when they saw Michael pull up at the hanger. Usually he just walked over, it was rare for him to drive.

"Oh, thank God I caught you guys before I had to chase you down at the cabin," he said as he walked up.

"What's going on? Cait and I just got back from Vegas, please tell me it isn't a mission," Hawke said tiredly.

"Not a mission no, but important. It is about Sinjin," Michael said and Hawke invited him to sit down at the desks in the hanger.

"What is it? Did Larry find something out?"

Caitlin walked in just as Michael had said it was about Sinjin and she slipped her arm around Hawke's waist.

"You know that my information comes from so many different sources it is practically duct taped and stitched together with twine but the final source…it's true, your brother is alive and I hope to have him home to you before Christmas," Michael said, not wanting to split hairs or drag things out.

Hawke felt his knees give a little and Caitlin held him tight then. He was breathing hard and shook his head. "He's…he's coming home? You're sure this time? It's really him?"

"Positive, Hawke. This time is it, no rescue mission needed, no Airwolf…he's coming home along with three other long time POW's," Michael said with a huge smile. "Let me pick up where we left off last time. As I had said we suspected that he ended up in a Siberian prison where they tried to find out all they could about anything he knew about American military tech that he even had heard rumors about. We learned more about his time there and in true Hawke fashion he wouldn't talk and they threw him into solitary for months at a time for more than two years. That brings us to 6 years ago. That was when a special operations group assigned to the CIA and a United Nations joint task force extricated him and eight other POW's. They came under heavy fire and their plane went down in the Urals. Sinjin and three other men survived the crash and had to spend quite some time trying to make their way out of Russia. It took them almost two years to finally make their way to East Germany. They'd almost made it. The last few years, Sinjin has been in an East German prison but thankfully being treated a bit better than he was in Siberia at least. As of last week, in some diplomatic wrangling no one even knew was happening, he was transferred to West German authorities and to the UN again. He and the other men he'd stuck with are currently in Rammstein receiving medical treatment and military debriefing. I got the call yesterday from the Pentagon with all of the details I hadn't managed to scrape together. He's alive, he's not well, but he's alive and he'll be home by Christmas if not sooner," Michael finished his story.

Caitlin was crying in both happiness for Hawke and Dom and Le even though the boy had never met his father since he was a tiny baby.

The kids had been playing but when they noticed Caitlin crying they came running over.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Emily asked in concern.

"Happy tears, sweetie. They found your Uncle Sinjin."

Le wasn't sure what to feel about this man who was his real father, he already thought of Uncle String as his dad to be honest but he still wanted to meet his real dad. "Is my dad okay?" Le asked softly.

"In time, he might, Le. He…the man has been through a lot and he's very ill right now," Michael said sadly. "But I can't help but admire his will to live despite all of that."

Hawke couldn't speak, the lump in his throat was nearly suffocating and tears were pouring down his face. His brother had been through so much because he'd left him behind. It was his fault. His fault that Sinjin had been through so much. At times, he thought he'd gotten past those feelings of leaving his brother behind, others told him over and over it wasn't his fault. But it was so hard not to blame himself especially now knowing he was so sick. He pushed out of Caitlin's arms and rushed away to the bathroom. His stomach was roiling and churning and Hawke ended up hunched over the toilet until he was dry heaving. He jerked when a small gentle hand threaded through his hair on the back of his head and a cool damp paper towel was draped over his neck. Cait. He sighed heavily.

Hawke flicked the handle and flushed then lowered the lid and sat down on the toilet for a moment to collect himself. Caitlin watched him for a moment in silence, reached out and ran her hand over his shoulder and cupped his cheek. She didn't say anything, she didn't have to, he knew she loved him and was there for him when he was ready to talk. He nodded at her and she stepped out of the bathroom. He sat there taking in deep breaths for a moment before he got up and brushed his teeth, glad he kept a toothbrush in the hanger bathroom. He splashed cool water on his face and tried to get his emotions under control.

He was alive. Sinjin was alive. That was the most important thing. Even if his brother blamed him for it all, it was worth it just to know he was still alive. At least he could take comfort in that. They'd suspected he was alive and Hawke had known it in his heart but now it was real.

Hawke slowly made his way back and found that Caitlin was waiting on him. She didn't say a word, just offered her hand in silence. He really didn't deserve her. Hawke squeezed her fingers and she gave him a slight upturn of her lips and that was enough. For now, it was enough to get him back on an even keel.

Dom didn't look much better than he felt and he walked over to the older man and hugged him tight. "He's alive, String. All these years and damn you, you were right. Even when I lost hope you never did," Dom said crying onto his surrogate son's shoulder.

Hawke knew that if Sinjin had been held captive this long that he was going to be in bad shape. It would take time and healing. Knowing that he was out there in pain, isolated, hurt, alone…it hurt him so much he could barely breathe. He'd known these things in the back of his mind but now it was all real.

Hawke reached out and drew Le and Emily into the hug and Dom did the same with Caitlin, all of them just holding onto one another.

Somewhere along the way, Michael had disappeared. He was still there but had walked outside the hanger to give the family time to collect themselves. After what he felt was an appropriate amount of time, Michael returned with his briefcase from his car. He walked over and opened it, sitting a file on the desk for Hawke.

Hawke sat down on the desk and started going through the file. Cait was leaning over his shoulder with Emily against her legs and Dom was sitting with his hands on Le's shoulders as Hawke handed a photograph to Dom.

"Dear God, that is him, he's grayer than I am," Dom whispered and Hawke nodded.

"What he's been through ages you," Hawke commented simply and sighed. Caitlin reached over and took the page marked medical history that was dated just last week. She started to go down the list of injuries, ailments and infirmities that came from his long and varied incarcerations over the years.

The UN doctors had diagnosed Sinjin with post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety. Not surprising there, she thought as she read. He had a peptic ulcer also not surprising along with arthritis in his neck, right hip and shoulders. He also could barely lift his left arm. They hoped with physical therapy that he would regain at least 70% of mobility in that arm. His eyesight was poor and they had fitted him with glasses and he needed to have his teeth worked on, if he needed them the VA was offering him dentures. She read on where the doctor noted the premature aging common among long term POW's; Sinjin's hair was almost completely white now instead of the sunny blonde it had been.

Caitlin moved on to reading the handwritten notes of the attending physician. During the first several nights at the UN hospital facility the doctor noted nightmares and that Sinjin appeared to have peripheral neuropathy in his right foot giving him a slight limp. When he was informed that his brother was in fact still alive during a discussion about returning home, "The subject lashed out in anger, destroying a chair and overturning a table before succumbing to tears. Myself and an orderly remained with him until he could calm himself without the need for tranquilizers. He admitted that he had thought his brother was dead, had been told so and had given up hope on ever returning home. The subject admitted that he had planned that once he got his 'buddies' out of danger and to France, which was where they were attempting to go, that he was going to return to Vietnam to find his wife and child."

Note: I chose not to give the patient further information on his wife and child to not cause any further upset. According to the records we were given the man's wife had passed but his son is living in America with the subject's brother. We feel that family might be better to pass this information to the patient.

Caitlin swallowed hard and had to fight back tears of sorrow, her heart going out to the man she'd never met but knew so much of from Dom and Hawke.

Hawke looked at her and she shook her head. "His medical file from the hospital," she said softly. "He's going to need a lot of support."

Hawke nodded. "He'll get everything he needs."

That night Hawke wasn't able to sleep, he was sitting in front of the fireplace and Caitlin came down from the loft, which they'd turned into a bedroom with more privacy. She felt huge and was walking slowly having to watch carefully where she placed her feet because she could no longer see them.

She knew that Hawke wanted to fly to Germany immediately but he couldn't take her. The kids needed her and she was nearing the point of no return on flying for her. Plus, they couldn't uproot the kids from school to wait around in a base hospital in Germany.

He looked up when he saw her coming down the stairs and watched as she waddled a little. Her gait was a little off now with the weight gain from the baby but he thought it was cute. He'd mentioned she was waddling earlier in the week and Emily had taken to calling her 'mother goose' much to Caitlin's chagrin.

"Why don't you, Dom and Michael go?" Caitlin suggested. "You can get Sinjin up to speed on things and let him know about Le."

"Will you be okay?" Hawke asked, worriedly. Cait was getting fairly far along into the pregnancy now and he didn't like leaving.

"I'll be fine, the baby isn't due until November. We've got time, I can have Toni or Marella fly us home and stuff or we can invade Dom's place a couple days a week or something. We'll be fine. Your brother needs you, String and you…you need him too."

"You're sure?" Hawke asked.

"I'm sure, besides I want our baby born in the good old USA not in Germany," she teased.

Hawke laughed. "All right. We better talk to the rest of the family then."

By the end of the week Hawke, Dom and Michael were landing at Rammstein Air Force Base and being taken by a base car to the hospital where Sinjin was. The major who had met them was a kindly man who had been extremely respectful, telling them that the whole base was proud to have these heroes back on an American base.

At least Sinjin was going to get a better homecoming welcome than he and his buddies did when they first came back from 'Nam.

Hawke was nervous as hell as they rode in the car, he couldn't stop bouncing his leg and finally Dom reached over and put his hand on his knee to stop him.

"Sorry, little nervous," he admitted.

"Me too, son," Dom answered. He hadn't seen String bounce his leg like that since he was a teenager.

"He knows you are both coming today, his doctors have informed him already and he is very much looking forward to it, from what they said. Remember, they don't want him to have surprises so they have been slowly giving him pieces of information, they feel that his family would be best to tell him most of what he has missed out on," Michael reminded them.

When they arrived, the three men followed Major Perkins into the hospital and up to the fourth floor where Sinjin's room was. The Major led them as far as the hallway and then stopped. "He's in 405," he told them and they thanked him before heading there.

Hawke paused at the door and looked at Dom who gave him an encouraging nod. He knocked and then opened the door and peeked in. Sinjin was standing at the window looking out, his arms crossed over his chest with an IV stand next to him. He was extremely thin and somewhat stooped at the shoulders. Hawke knew that was from his time in solitary and he'd be getting therapy for it.

"Sinj?" Hawke almost whispered and the other man turned around, swinging the IV stand with him. His face was wan and cheeks sunken but the sudden smile on his brother's face made Hawke's heart leap in his chest. He'd missed that smile for so long. The smile he often saw echoed in Le's face.

"String?" Sinjin almost choked on the word. "God, it's good to see you." The brothers crossed the room to each other and embraced for a long time with tears running down both their faces.

"They told me you were dead, kid," Sinjin said brokenly. "Gave me your dog tags, oh God, I can't believe that I believed that fucker." Sinjin had missed his brother so much, they'd been inseparable as kids, teens and even in the Army. String barely looked any different, older yes, a few wrinkles at his eyes and laugh lines but still that same boyish face he remembered so well.

Hawke just squeezed his brother tighter. "It's okay, it's okay, Sinj. I've looked for you for so long."

"They told me, said you never gave up on me. God, I love you, little brother. I've missed you so much," he said sniffling like a little kid. He knew String was stubborn and it seems that he used it to keep looking for him.

"Love you too, Sinj."

Dom slipped a little further into the room while Michael just hung around outside the door to keep them from being interrupted. The older man had tears running down his face too and he pulled out his handkerchief to wipe them away.

"Got room in here for one more?" Dom finally asked and Sinjin looked up and let out a small whoop.

"Dom! Oh, God," he said as the older man came to embrace his eldest son.

"You my boy have been missed," Dom told him as Sinjin clung to him, crying against his shoulder. He had raised this boy since he was 12 years old. Dom reached out and pulled String into the hug as well and the three men just stood holding onto one another for a long time before they finally broke apart.

Sinjin was still exhausted and sore and moved over to the bed and sat down, gesturing at the chairs next to the bed. "You two are a sight for sore eyes," he said as he sat looking at them.

Dom was much grayer and a bit heavier than he recalled but he still had those kind eyes and happy smile. String looked good, still young and healthy…he was only three years older than his brother but he looked closer to Dom's age now with all the gray. They told him he'd bounce back a little with weight gain, good food, fresh air and exercise though.

"They said you are still running Santini Air," Sinjin said.

"Yep, String still works with me. I let him buy out half of it about ten years ago," Dom told him.

"That's great. Man, I can't wait to go back. I've thought about that hanger a lot over the years. All the good times we had there," Sinjin said and was just so glad to see his family again. He glanced at String and noticed the light shining off a gold band on his brother's left hand. "You got married?"

Hawke looked down at his hand and couldn't help the smile that came to his face. "Yeah, her name is Caitlin. She would have come with us but she's pregnant almost seven months now."

"Oh my God, you are going to be a dad!"

"Well, this will be our second, we adopted a little girl back in December. She's five now, just started kindergarten a few weeks ago. You remember Jilly Williams?"

"Yeah, sure I remember Jilly," Sinjin said.

"Well, she and her husband died in a car wreck and then Granny Williams passed and she named me her granddaughter's guardian, her name's Emily," Hawke explained. He took out his wallet and handed over a picture of Caitlin and Emily by the Christmas tree last year.

"Gosh, that's terrible that Jilly was killed like that…but oh, she's adorable, isn't she? Got Jilly's smile that's for sure. The redhead your wife?"

"Yeah, that's Cait," Hawke said with a smile.

"She's cute," Sinjin said with a grin. "I can't believe it, you all settled down."

"I heard you ah, got married too," Hawke said carefully.

"Yeah, her name is Ana, I have a little boy myself, his name is Le Van. I haven't seen them in years though. I was planning to head back to Vietnam to find them, their family saved my life, String," Sinjin explained.

"We know, we have been trying to track you for a long time now. Sinj, I…Ana and Le made it to the states," he said trying to be careful how he explained things.

"They did, have you met them?"

"Le is an amazing kid, Sinj. Really amazing, I couldn't love him more if he was my own," Hawke told him.

"Really? He should be about 11 now. What's he like?" Sinjin asked with so much pride and longing in his eyes that Hawke couldn't help smiling at him.

"He's smart, real smart, says he wants to grow up to be a veterinarian and he can draw like you used to. He and Emily are real close, kind of like you and I were. He is great with her, protective and plays with her even though she's so much younger. He has been a great addition to our lives and family," Hawke told him honestly.

"You got a picture of him?"

"Oh, yeah, hang on," Hawke said as he carefully removed another picture. This one was from when they had just moved back to the cabin it was both Le and Emily in front of the porch.

"He's a cute kid," Sinjin said proudly. "He has Ana's kind eyes. Wow, he's so grown now. I've missed so much." Sinjin swallowed hard at that and Hawke sighed. He knew he'd grown over the years but he still remembers the chubby toddler he held in his arms before the Russians came for him.

"You'll make up for it. He's really looking forward to meeting you," Hawke told him.

Sinjin stared at the picture a little longer and noticed it was taken at the cabin. "Is that at grandpa's cabin?"

"Yeah, we live there, I added onto it so it has plenty of room now."

"Wow. Is she on crutches?"

"Oh, yeah. Emily had a bit of a run in with a sidewinder when we were living in Sun Valley this summer. We were staying there until the cabin was expanded and she and Le were in the back yard. He tried to warn her but she stepped on it and got bitten. Cait and Le got her to the hospital in less than 10 minutes though. He was a huge help and Emily is doing great now, already off the crutches," Hawke told him.

"Wow, poor thing. She's so little. So, Le was spending time with you guys this summer?" Sinjin asked.

"Uh, actually, he came to live with us before the end of last school semester when his Aunt Minh died," Hawke said carefully.

"Minh died? Where…where is Ana?" Sinjin felt he already knew the answer though, String wouldn't have his son living apart from his mom if she was around.

"I'm sorry, Sinj. Ana was killed in a car wreck in Oregon two years ago, Minh had been raising Le with her husband. Then I met them and unfortunately Minh died and now Le lives with us. I'm so sorry, Sinj," Hawke told him and watched sadly as his brother hung his head and tears dripped from his face.

"Ana is gone…I…sometimes in the prison the only thing that got me through the day was the thought of seeing her and Le again."

Dom got up and sat down on the bed next to Sinjin and put his arm around him. "You still have Le and he's a wonderful boy, son. You'll come home as soon as we can spring you from this place and you'll be with your son again. You'll be with family."

Sinjin nodded and rested his head on Dom's shoulder. He remembered doing that a lot after their parents died and now it felt just the same. Strong, steady, loyal and ever optimistic, Dom. He was heartbroken that Ana was gone. He'd loved her, for the short time they'd been together he had loved her with all he was. He had figured at some point she had probably moved on, maybe written him off as dead and found a new husband but he'd hoped. He supposed now that he no longer needed that hope to get through the days it shouldn't hurt as much but it did. It took him a while to compose himself but he realized that hearing it from family made it just a little easier. He'd really lost it when the doctor had told him about String still being alive.

He stared down at the picture of his son and found himself feeling a little less hurt. That was his son, he was standing so straight and proud with a beautiful smile on his face and his arm around the little girl that String adopted. He found himself smiling a little as he saw how happy the two kids were in the picture. "They sure look happy. Thank you for finding my boy, String and taking care of him."

"It has truly been our pleasure, Sinj. I sometimes think he takes care of us. He takes after you in ways that even I can't understand. You've got a lot to be proud of in Le," Hawke told him honestly.

Sinjin wiped at the tears on his face and sat up. "I want to go home, as soon as they'll let me out of here I want to come home," Sinjin said then.

"Do you want to come stay with me? I'm still in the same place, you could have your old room back or you could come stay with String, he's got a guestroom all ready if you want it," Dom told him.

"I think I'd like to stay at the cabin at least for a little while, I'm not sure I can handle the city right now, Dom," Sinjin admitted.

"You're more than welcome, Sinj and you can stay as long as you want. Cait and the kids and I would be happy to have you."

"Are you sure? I'm having some real bad nightmares and well, I'm pretty jumpy most of the time. Would that be bad for the kids?"

"They understand. I know Le does and Emily is a smart girl and both of them have been through a lot in their young lives. I think if any children in the world could understand they would," Hawke explained.

"He's right, Sinj, they are smart kids and they both have had their fair share of nightmares. You might find they'll help you more than being on your own," Dom told him.

Hawke realized now that they'd lost Michael somewhere along the way. "Hang on, we have another person with us, he's how we found you," Hawke said as he got up and opened the door.

"You could have come in, Michael," he told him but the man shook his head.

"It was time for family, I just kept watch to make sure no one came by to interrupt. I headed off a nurse, she'll be back soon though," Michael told him and Hawke laughed.

"Well come on in and meet my brother," he told him absolutely thrilled to be able to say those words.

Almost three weeks later, Sinjin was released from the hospital in Rammstein. He now had new teeth, they'd managed to crown most and fill the others he only had to have 2 pulled which was surprising. He was glad not to have dentures before he was 40. He had a cane now, Michael had gifted him with a nice oak cane from the VA hospital that was very nice compared to the cheap metal thing they first gave him. String had helped him get new glasses that were a little more stylish than the ones they first gave Sinjin which looked like frames from the 1950s. It was surprisingly fast how quickly his body was cleared of all of the infections and other issues he'd had aside from the ones that required therapy. Physical and emotional. He had names for doctors in Van Nuys for that.

He still ached and desperately needed to put on weight. He was taller than his brother by a few inches but he was a bit stooped now from spending so much time crouched in solitary confinement. He had nerve damage in his right foot and a bit of a limp, thus the cane and couldn't lift his arm very high but they said that therapy would help with that. All in all, he figured it could be a lot worse. He could be dead like many of the men he'd been held captive with over the years. The optimistic side of him figured he had something important still left to do in life or he wouldn't still be here.

They flew back on an NRO Gulf Stream so that Sinjin could get up and walk around as much as he needed. Being confined to a seat for so long on a commercial flight might be difficult for him so the doctor had asked if a private jet would be possible and Michael had immediately said yes. It was one of the reasons they were letting him go so soon.

Sinjin had left with a bag full of pills for various ailments. Some for his ulcer, some for his arthritis, vitamins, some for anxiety, sleeping pills that were for night terrors and something for his neuropathy in his leg. He teased he was taking so many pills that he rattled when he walked.

"I can barely find clothes to fit, I'll be glad when I put some weight on," Sinjin complained when he had to tighten his belt again.

"I bet that Cait will help you solve that problem, she's a great cook. She caters to your brother's strange diet but I bet she'll fix you up some nice fattening foods, she's from Texas so if you get to craving something deep fried or barbecued I'd bet she'd take care of ya," Dom told him.

"I remember when Ana was pregnant, I wouldn't want to make Cait cook, she's probably exhausted," Sinjin said, feeling a pang of longing and sadness for Ana.

"She likes to cook but her back has been bothering her when she does too much. We'll get you fixed up though. I may not eat meat much but I can cook it," Hawke told him and Sinjin laughed.

"You still meatless huh?"

"After 'Nam even more so," Hawke said with a look of distaste on his face.

There you ate what the Army gave you and String had tried to eat what they fed them but there was a bad batch of meat one time and man, most of the entire platoon was off meat for a while there. Sinjin remembered it vividly, in technicolor even.

"Ugh, yeah I remember that. It's a memory I wish I could forget. I was off meat for a long while after that too," Sinjin said with a grimace and Dom remembered the story from String's letters back then. Same thing had happened in Korea once. Enough to put a man off his meals for a while.

They exchanged a few stories over the long plane flight, even Michael shared a few of his that weren't classified at least. Sinjin had decided he liked Michael, he wasn't sure what his connection to String and Dom was but they'd said something about a business partnership between their hangers.

It was a Saturday so the hanger itself was closed for the weekend, the men would just be picking up one of the JetRangers to head up to the cabin.

When they were over California, Sinjin had looked out the window and thought how glad he was to finally be coming home. He was certain the world had changed, just being on this plane had told him that much. He had a lot of catching up to do. He had no idea what the state of the world was like now, they'd filled him in some at the hospital over the last month but he was still reeling. He was home. He was back in United States airspace again. It was a feeling he would never forget.


	31. Chapter 31

Thankfully the woman that Michael and Marella had hired to run the Tala Star day care for the employees was also a pilot. Tracy Rogers had grown up a Marine brat and her dad had been a pilot so naturally he taught his kinds to fly too. It worked out perfectly because Caitlin could no longer fly on her own, she doubted she could reach or see the cyclic in her current very round shape. It was weird having to depend on others but both Marella and Tracy had been great about ferrying her around during the last month since Hawke, Dom and Michael had gone to Germany.

The family had kept in touch on the phone as much as possible but Caitlin was so glad they were on their way back now. She had missed Hawke terribly and so had the kids. Le had been a little odd ever since they found out about Sinjin coming home and she wasn't sure how to really talk to the boy about it. He wouldn't open up to her and she hoped that he would with String.

Caitlin also was getting anxious to have little Jameson Elias. She was just a little less than a month from her due date and she was really, really looking forward to seeing her feet again. Marella had been taking her to her doctor's appointments which were a little more frequent now and Tracy had brought the kids home from school each day. They'd go to the center after school and Tracy would make sure they had a snack and helped them with their homework and then would bring them home to Caitlin. With their homework already done and a snack in them they could help Caitlin with dinner and things around the house in the evenings. It had been a great help and the kids really liked Tracy and Christa at the center.

Today the guys would be coming home with Sinjin. Caitlin was a little nervous to meet this man who meant so much to Hawke. He'd been through so much and even though String had been optimistic about his recovery on the phone she knew it was going to take a while for Sinjin to even get close to normal again after so long. Thankfully, Toni had come up with Marella to help fix a nice meal. Caitlin mostly ended up supervising because she was having a tough time standing very long these days.

"No position is comfortable anymore," Caitlin complained as she struggled a little to climb up on a bar stool and Toni laughed.

"My sister said the same during her pregnancy, it went great and then boom the last few months she was miserable. Then my best friend Sandra was the opposite, the first four months she had morning sickness so bad she lost weight instead of gained it. Then suddenly it stopped and the rest of her pregnancy was a breeze. I think it is just different for everyone," Toni said with a shrug. "I'm not sure I'm tough enough for it though." She'd never really had a huge desire to have kids, she liked them but when they were other folk's kids or your nieces and nephews you could give them back and not have to deal with all the other stuff.

Caitlin rubbed her lower back and grinned. "The baby just keeps laying on a nerve is what the doctor said," she explained.

Toni snorted and Marella looked at her. "Must be related to Hawke, not even born yet and getting on someone's nerves."

Caitlin and Marella both started laughing, they both knew that Hawke and Toni didn't exactly get along that great most of the time.

"Ya know, we are going to have another Hawke around, we might all have to start calling him String," Marella said and then paused. "God, I'm not sure I can."

Caitlin laughed with her. "It took me a little while, I only call him Hawke when he annoys me."

"So, pretty much all the time…"

"No, Toni my husband doesn't annoy me that often, not like he does you. What is it with you two anyway? He won't say," Caitlin asked.

"Oh, we got off on the wrong foot when we met and never did get back on the right one fully I guess. It was mostly my own fault but that husband of yours does not forgive easily," Toni said as she chopped vegetables.

"No, he can be unbending sometimes and he's stubborn as a mule," Caitlin agreed.

"It wasn't the best of first impressions I could have made and because of my not knowing about that special bird of his and Dom's I caused him some trouble. It all worked out in the end but instead of taking an offer to work for either Michael or Dom, I left. But, now I'm back and starting to find my place in this world again," Toni explained.

"I think most of our antagonism between Hawke and I is just habit more than actual dislike of each other. I think the one thing that I find the most important though is we both care a great deal about Dom. I just fell in love with that old guy the minute I met him. Maybe it's the Italian thing and I know I haven't known him nearly as long as Hawke has of course but I think the world of Dom. That, Hawke and I can agree 100% on," she said as she finished up and dumped the vegetables into the roasting pan.

Caitlin was leaning on her elbow while seated at the bar listening to Toni and couldn't agree more about what a great guy Dom was. Just then Emily came bouncing up with Le.

"Can we go outside and play for a little while?"

"Sure, don't stray far, your daddy will be home soon," Caitlin said and Emily smiled broadly.

"Yay! We won't," she said as she grabbed Le's arm and tugged him outside.

He'd been a bit quiet and unsure of himself since he'd learned of his real dad coming home. How was he supposed to feel? He already felt like his uncle was his dad, how was he supposed to feel about this stranger? He'd looked at pictures of his dad and though they had similar smiles he couldn't really find anything else to connect them at all. He took after the Vietnamese side of the family. Uncle String did say that his dad liked to draw like he does, so maybe they had that to share. Maybe.

He pushed the dark thoughts away as Emily came bounding off the porch with Sally and Tet. "Come on, race ya!" she shouted and he raced after her toward the other side of the lake where they often played because it was so level.

Back in Van Nuys the men were transferring luggage into the JetRanger. Sinjin couldn't lift much but he at least managed one duffle bag. He felt pretty bad when his little brother had to help him up into the chopper but it couldn't be helped. He wasn't strong enough yet to do it on his own without a step ladder.

Once they were settled in and Hawke lifted the helicopter up into the air, Dom who was beside Sinjin in the back smiled. "I can't wait to see the kids, I bet they have grown so much in the last month," Dom said. "I bet you can't wait to meet, Le."

"I can't wait to meet them both, they sound like great kids and yeah, I'm not sure how it'll go with Le and I, I may be his dad but I'm not his dad, ya know? String has been more of a dad to him than I have," Sinjin complained.

"Well it isn't like you could have helped that, Sinj," Dom told him and patted him on the knee. "Don't worry, you'll get to know him and he'll love you." Dom felt for both of his boys, String loved Le like his own son and he knew that he feared losing the boy now that Sinjin was back, but it wasn't like he would deny the two a relationship either. It was a difficult thing.

"I sure hope so," Sinjin said with a heavy sigh. Le was already 11-years-old, he already was a part of String's family, how exactly could he want to take his brother's place? It wasn't right but he had loved that boy since he was born, even though he didn't know him now he still loved the child he'd made with Ana.

String too wasn't sure how he felt about it, he loved Le like his own son and now he was going to have to step aside for his brother. He couldn't be happier that Sinjin was home and back in their lives but he felt like he was gaining his brother and losing his son. He tried to push away the sour feelings as he flew them toward the cabin. At least he knew one thing, he couldn't wait to get home he missed Caitlin and the kids terribly.

"I wonder how much bigger Cait's gotten, she sure complained a lot the other night on the phone," Hawke stated and Dom laughed.

"She's at that point of just wanting to have that baby as soon as possible I think," Dom said still chuckling. "I remember when my ex-wife was pregnant with Sally Anne, she jokingly begged me to take her on a bumpy car ride to try to jar her out."

"You didn't do it, did you?" Michael asked curiously.

"No, oh no, she was only joking…at least I hope she was, but she had the baby soon after that. Slapped the crap out of my mother too when she was in labor. Mom said something like 'oh it doesn't hurt that bad, I've done this too, ya know' and my wife slapped her right in the face with a wet washcloth and said, 'fine, then get your ass on this gurney and you have it!'."

All of them laughed at that. "Ana cursed me in two languages," Sinjin offered, his smile was a bit melancholy, all the men knew he still was heartbroken to find his wife had died but he had been sharing small parts of their relationship with them. Hawke felt for him, he didn't know how he'd have dealt with all that his brother had. The torture, the abuse, the captivity and then having freedom again and love only to find it taken from him again and again.

"Caitlin doesn't curse often but I'm probably going to learn all kinds of things about her vocabulary when she has the baby," Hawke said with a grin.

"She's a redhead, of course you are," Michael teased.

The sight of the mountain and lake, had nearly brought tears to Sinjin's eyes and he sat with a lump in his throat as they flew over the water toward the cabin. It was bigger now, that was for sure and then the sight of people streaming out was surprising. He easily caught sight of Hawke's wife, her red hair was shining in the sunlight and she was most definitely pregnant. There were two other women there and the kids. The little girl was small and thin with pitch black hair and then there was his own son, with a cap of black hair and he wasn't terribly tall either and very slender. Sinjin wasn't sure who the other women were but one had a rich exotic complexion and looked quite elegant and the other was rather short with dark hair and a nice smile.

They landed on the dock and Hawke got out first, he opened the door for Sinjin and helped him get out. His legs had stiffened up a bit on the flight up and it took him a few seconds to get his bearings once he was on the dock. The other two men joined them and they walked up to the others.

"Daddy!" the little girl cried out and ran toward them, launching herself into String's arms. "I missed you SOOO much!"

"I missed you too, bug. I want you to meet someone very special," he told her and she turned to Sinjin.

"Are you my Uncle Sinjin?" she asked.

"I sure am, and you are Emily, right?" The girl had the most stunning crystal blue eyes he'd ever seen. They were so pale a blue that they looked almost like ice chips and she had the cutest little button nose and happy smile. She definitely was Jilly's daughter with that smile.

"Yep. Your son Le is my bestest friend!" Emily pronounced and Sinjin couldn't help smiling at the sweet girl.

Just then Caitlin and Le approached. Hawke set Emily down and kissed Caitlin, he wanted to kiss her more but he'd settle for one good sweet kiss now. "Missed you," he whispered and she kissed his cheek again.

"Missed you too," she whispered in return. They noticed Marella was greeting Michael similarly and Dom gave Emily a huge hug and a hug to Toni too.

Le and Sinjin just stared at each other for a few minutes.

"So, you're my dad," Le said looking up at the sickly and bedraggled looking man. He could see the resemblance between his uncle and this man, they had the same eyes though this man, his fathers, looked sad and haunted.

"Yeah. Le…I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," he started and Le shook his head.

"Not like it was on purpose," Le said. He knew it wasn't like his dad left voluntarily or anything. None of it was his fault.

"No, never. I never would have left you and your mom," he said brokenly. He had loved his life with Ana and Le at the Van farm.

"She cried a lot, mom did. She missed you," Le told him and Sinjin felt tears on his face.

"I missed her too and you. I wish…"

"Me too," Le said cutting him off, knowing he was going to say he wished his mom was there.

"The last time I saw you, I held you in my arms, you were such a sweet little baby, Le. I've thought about you every single day since they took me, son," he told him and Le was unable not to cry anymore. Painfully, Sinjin lowered himself onto his good knee and wrapped his arms around his son. They cried on each other's shoulders for a while as the others moved away into the cabin to give them some privacy.

After several minutes the pain of kneeling got to Sinjin. "Le, come on up on the porch, I can't stay down like this too long, it hurts," he told the boy.

Le stepped back and swiped at the tears on his face and helped his dad stand up. He watched Sinjin limp up onto the porch and knew that his dad had been through a lot but seeing him like this made it real. He was nothing like the man in the photos he'd seen. His life had been sucked out of him by everything he'd endured and Le couldn't fault him for it. He didn't know him yet but he knew now that he wanted to. It took a strong person to survive what his dad had.

Sinjin took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face with it, the man had been crying as much as Le had. The boy sat down on the porch in front of him as Sinjin sat on the bench.

"I missed so much with you," Sinjin said sadly.

"We'll make up for it," Le told him and Sinjin smiled at him. The optimism of youth was refreshing to the man.

"String and Dom both told me that you were a great kid, you know they love you a lot, don't you? And even though we don't know each other yet, I still love the baby you were and love the boy I see in front of me now. I don't expect you to love me, you don't know me, so don't worry about that. We'll figure things out, huh?" Sinjin told him and Le nodded.

"I'm just glad you are home where you belong," Le told the man.

"Me too, son. Me too."

Hawke held back, greeting Cait and Emily. Caitlin had certainly gotten bigger, their son was growing and doing well from all she'd told him. She showed him some of the latest ultrasound images and he found himself smiling at an image of their child sucking his thumb. His hands couldn't help touching her stomach where their son was resting. He cuddled Emily for a bit and then she went to her grandpa to cuddle up with him, telling him all about kindergarten since he'd been gone.

After about half an hour, Hawke stepped out onto the porch to find Le and Sinjin talking about his new school. "Dinner should be ready in a little while," Hawke told them.

Le got up from the porch and then stood and waited for Sinjin who leaned heavily on his cane as he stood. The boy stuck close to him as they came back into the cabin and Sinjin stopped in the doorway.

"Wow, it still looks almost the same," the man said in amazement as memories of this place flooded back to him. Winter days when he and String would sit in front of the fireplace, warming their toes or hands after playing outside. Fishing and then running back in with their catches. The time he tripped and bloodied his nose when he and String collided and then sat laughing about it in the floor not far from where Caitlin was standing.

He realized he'd only been focused on Le and had ignored all the other people in the room for the most part. Sinjin felt his face color just a little at that.

"I was terribly rude I think, I haven't really said hello to everyone," he said and the ladies turned to him.

"We certainly understand, Sinjin," Caitlin said with a warm smile as she walked or well, waddled across the room. She was getting ready to pop soon, he thought but she sure was cute.

"I'm honored to meet you, Caitlin. String has told me a lot about you the last few weeks. You're prettier than your pictures too," he told her and she smiled at him.

"Ugh, I'm the size of a Volkswagen but I am honored to meet you too, Sinjin. String and Dom have told me a lot about you too the last few years. Welcome home," she said to him and he took her offered hand in a firm handshake and then pulled her close for a slight hug. He couldn't lift his left arm high but was at least able to give her a small hug.

"You're pregnant and beautiful. Welcome to the family," he told her then and she smiled up at him happily as she hugged him back and she swore she could feel every rib. They were going to have to work on putting weight on him.

"So, are you about ready to have that nephew of mine?"

"Soon, I'm due between the 3rd and 10th of November according to the doctor but I kinda feel like this little guy is going to come a little earlier than that," Caitlin said rubbing her baby bump.

"Le came a little earlier than the midwife said he would too," Sinjin told her and Le looked up at his dad, of course not knowing that about himself. "Came into the world screaming bloody murder too."

"Come to think of it, both you boys were about a week or so earlier than the doctor's predicted too, in fact, your dad almost missed your birth, Sinjin, because of it," Dom said remembering that their dad was going to take a charter but Dom had swapped places with him since Sarah was so close to her due date. It was a good thing he had or Stephen would've missed his son's birth. Dom had just started Santini Air that year and Stephen was working with him during some downtime that summer. Stephen was going to college on the GI Bill at the time.

"Hawke men are impatient, that sounds familiar," Caitlin said with a grin and both Sinjin and String chuckled at that.

Dom introduced Toni, who had been busy in the kitchen checking on dinner with Marella.

"Dinner is almost done. It's nice to meet you, Sinjin. I'm Toni Donatello. I work for Dom at Santini Air," she told him.

Sinjin said hello to her and then Michael introduced his partner Marella. Both seemed like nice people. Sinjin still felt a little out of place not quite used to being back in civilized society but he was trying to get used to it.

His little brother knew him well though, even after all these years. String came over to him and whispered. "We're all family and friends here, don't worry. We all understand what you've been through so if you need some time alone we're fine with it."

"Thanks, String. I'm good for now but I do need to sit down for a few minutes."

Hawke led his brother over to the couch, noticing he was starting to shake a little and immediately Emily came clamoring over to sit next to him. Hawke almost started to tell her to go help in the kitchen or something but the girl just snuggled up next to his brother quietly and leaned her head against his arm. Sinjin looked down at her oddly at first and then remembered all the little girl had been through. This was her way of telling him she understood. He felt a lump form in his throat and then felt Le crawl up on the couch next to him on the other side and do the same as Emily.

"That right there, you won't find better medicine anywhere, they call it a 'daddy' sandwich," Hawke whispered to his brother before going to see what he could do to help in the kitchen.

Sinjin smiled a little at the cute name as he looked from one child to the other, tangling his fingers with Le's and realized his brother was right. They might not be able to heal the physical aches but these kids sure helped with the heart aches.

That evening after Michael, Marella and Toni had left the Hawke family was gathered in the living room. Sinjin had eaten as much as he could of dinner without making himself sick. After having meager meals for so long and only having hospital food over the last several weeks tonight's homecoming meal was heavenly. The fresh roasted vegetables had tasted so good after so long without them that he ate two helpings and he tried both the salmon and the roast beef they'd had. String had teased him a little about his unusual plate, Sinjin had just a little bit of everything on the table. Just small spoonful's or small slices but he went back for seconds on the vegetables.

He thought back to the meal and how much he'd enjoyed it and the company.

"I haven't had fresh vegetables in years, canned sometimes but fresh, this is a real treat," Sinjin told them and Emily who had been pushing the asparagus away on her plate looked at how much her uncle was enjoying his. She'd never even tried asparagus but it looked funny and a weird name she couldn't say.

She looked at Le who was eating his and she sighed. "Uncle Sinjin is the asp…um…aspagus really that good?"

He paused and looked at the girl who had pushed hers to one side of her plate.

"I think so, but I've missed out on food like this for a long time, sweetheart," he told her.

That drew a little frown to the 5-year-old's face and she reached out timidly with her fork and tried to get the asparagus on it but it just slipped away. So, she put down her fork and picked it up with her fingers. She looked at it oddly for a moment and took a very timid bite of it. Everyone was watching her to see her reaction to it. Her face lit up and she smiled. "It isn't as bad as I thought," she announced and everyone laughed.

Generally, she was pretty good about eating vegetables, Le was too but they had balked at some over the last year. Le wouldn't touch shell peas of any kind and Emily had been leery of asparagus, broccoli and green beans. Green just seemed to be something she didn't trust to eat. Neither child would eat cooked spinach but they would fresh. Hawke and Caitlin had just decided not to battle with them over it, they did well enough eating other vegetables so they didn't push too much on them.

Sinjin just offered a small smile to the cute little girl and Caitlin smiled at him. "Thanks for getting her to try it," she said and he shrugged.

"I didn't do anything," he said and Caitlin grinned.

"You told the truth that was enough to get her interested," she said with a wink.

Sinjin thought it was cute the way Emily had eaten the rest of her dinner and had seemed to eat exactly what he had or at least try it. He thought it was her way to try to get to know him or something.

He thought back to the wonderful meal and how everyone had talked, joked and shared stories over the dinner table. It reminded him of when he and String were kids and talking to Dom at the dinner table or meals here at the cabin when their parents and even grandparents were still alive. The cabin had so much life in it again. It felt good to know his little brother had kept the cabin and had made it his home for his family.

Dom was settled in the chair next to the couch, Caitlin and String were on a loveseat that appeared to be very new. String had her feet in his lap and Emily and Le were in the floor while Sinjin was settled on the couch in front of the warm fire and felt more relaxed than he had in years.

"Oh, that was a big kick," Caitlin suddenly said and String looked at her in concern as she rubbed her stomach. "Your son might be a soccer player."

"My son? He's yours too," String teased her and Sinjin was grinning at them.

"He's yours when he's doing something bad, was the same way with Le when he was a baby. He was suddenly just mine when he did something wrong," Sinjin told them. "I remember one-day Ana yelling at me to come see what my son had done. We walked into the house and Le was completely soaked where he'd overturned the wash basin. Her father gave me this look of pity that made me laugh so hard my sides hurt. I hadn't even been in the house but somehow it was my fault that my son did it."

Le looked up at the adults and thought it was strange hearing someone talk about him as a baby. Sinjin talked with such fondness in his voice that it made Le feel a sort of pride that this man, though he didn't remember him had remembered *him* and had loved him from around the world from him. It made him think of how the love of family was the best thing he could possibly have. What he had here with Uncle String, Aunt Cait, Grandpa Dom, Emily and now his real dad was the most important thing in the world.

Dom laughed and said that it was the same with his ex and Sally Anne.

Emily looked up at a quiet Le, and put her small hand over his. He smiled at her. She seemed to know how he felt, probably because she had come to this family from the outside too. It would be different for little Jameson, hopefully he'll never know what it was like to live with the losses they had.

Sinjin looked back toward the fire and noticed the interaction between Le and Emily and realized the look they were giving each other was similar to looks he and String had shared as kids after losing their parents. These two were connected like a brother and sister instead of cousins. They were playing some sort of game and he asked what it was.

"It's a drawing and word game we made up," Le told him.

"Emily will give me a word and I'll spell it out on my sketch pad with her and then she'll tell me what to draw related to it," Le said. "Just something we started doing when she was in the hospital this summer after her snake bite."

"Then I take what he draws and color it in," Emily added.

"Can I see?" Sinjin asked curiously. String had told him that Le had inherited his drawing talent.

The kids got up out of the floor and crawled up on the couch on either side of him like they had earlier in the evening.

"See, I said jack-o-lantern and Le wrote the word out and drew a jack-o-lantern, then I colored it in with my crayons," Emily said pointing to the drawing on the page. There were several small drawings all over the page from bugs and cars to trees and animals. Le was a very good artist and Emily wasn't bad at coloring them in for a child her age. It was like he was making the girl her own coloring books.

"This is really good, both of you. Le, your drawings are terrific and Emily you're very good at staying in the lines," Sinjin complimented them and didn't see the others smiling at them.

"You wanna try?" Le asked.

"I dunno, it's been a long time since I've drawn anything," Sinjin admitted.

"I'll give you something easy," Emily said cheerfully and he laughed as Le handed him the pencil.

"All right…give me a word then," Sinjin said as he settled the sketchpad on his knee.

"Hmmm, it is almost Halloween so…how about a cat?" Emily suggested.

Sinjin nodded. He thought he could draw a basic cat outline. It had been a long time but he'd drawn a lot of animals when he could. He worked slowly at first, just lightly sketching until he started getting into the flow of it. It was almost like muscle memory for him, drawing was something he did a lot until the last few years when even that couldn't seem to give him joy in the prison. It wasn't long before he had a small cat drawn with an S shaped tail and sharply pointed ears with large eyes.

Both Emily and Le were impressed and Emily scrambled down to grab her crayons, a black one, a pink one and a green one. She colored the inside of the ears pink, the body and tail black and the eyes green. Sinjin got a kick out of watching her with her tongue caught between her lips as she worked. She really was an adorable child. Le, leaned closer against him so he could see Emily coloring and Sinjin shifted to put his arm around the boy.

Once the girl was done coloring the small drawing she hopped up to show it to Caitlin, String and Dom.

"See what Uncle Sinjin drew? He's as good as Le is!" she announced and the adults laughed and agreed.


	32. Chapter 32

A few days later Hawke flew his brother down to the hanger and then took him to his first VA therapy appointment. He sat in the waiting room reading a book he'd brought with him while his brother was back with the physical therapists. About an hour later Sinjin came out and had a folder with him.

"Got a bit of paperwork they gave me. They already took care of getting it all set up when I was in Germany but apparently I gotta finish filling all this out now that I have an address," he said as he handed the folder to String.

His younger brother opened the folder and started reading: "A Captive, Prisoner of War, Missing, Missing in Action, interned in a foreign country, captured, beleaguered… will continue to receive basic pay, special pay, incentive pay for hazardous duty, Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS), Family Separation Allowance (FSA), Family Separation for Housing (FSH), station per diem (allowances for not more than 90 days), and/or Hostile Fire Pay (HFP) if qualified immediately before missing status. Furthermore, POW/MIA personnel continue to be considered for promotion along with their contemporaries. Policy provides for each missing or captured officer/enlisted member to be considered for promotion to the next higher grade when they are eligible. The eligibility for officers is based on the date of rank in their current grade. For enlisted members, eligibility is based on time in grade and time in service."

Hawke shook his head and continued reading. Sinjin would be receiving all of his back pay plus raises and promotion from Captain to Lieutenant Colonel. He was still considered active duty, injured status and would be continuing to get military pay until he was released from active duty injured status. Sinjin had a number of medals coming to him as well. POW Medal, Distinguished Service and Expeditionary medal, Purple Heart and a handful of others that would have come to him at the end of his service in Vietnam, some of the same ones that String had gotten as well.

"Well, you are still on the payroll and getting a bunch of back pay, that should take a bit off your mind," String told him and Sinjin nodded.

"Yeah, man I had no idea. I remember reading something in the regs when we signed up I guess but it hasn't been even on the radar for me. Hell, I didn't know they still considered me IN the military," Sinjin said with a stunned look on his face.

"Well, you were MIA/POW so you were never technically discharged," String said with a shrug.

"Where do we need to go to handle all this paperwork?"

"They said that we'd need to head over to the Presidio base where they can handle all of it," Sinjin told him.

"You up for that today or do you want to come back another day?" String asked, knowing that Sinjin might be worn out from the therapy session.

"I'm good I think, not like we're walking," Sinjin said with a laugh.

"All right, let's head to San Francisco then."

They went back to the hanger and told the others where they were going, Hawke gave Caitlin a call at the cabin and let her know and she told them to have a safe flight up.

When they got to the base and Sinjin showed them his military ID that had been given to him in Rammstein the young corporal input the information at the computer terminal and paused then looked up at the man in awe for a moment. "Lieutenant Colonel Hawke, sir, please go down this hallway to the end and turn right, you'll talk with Major Thomas in room 108. Good to have you back in country, sir," the young man said. It said the man had been MIA/POW for 16 years. Good God.

"Uh, thank you, Corporal Sampson," he said as he looked at the young man's name.

The two brothers headed down the hallway as directed and ended up in front of a doorway for room 108 and went inside.

A pretty young woman in uniform was at a desk and she looked up. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

"Yeah, I…well. I just got back in country after being MIA/POW for 16 years," he began and she gasped.

"Oh, you are Lieutenant Colonel Hawke, we have your file ready, we were told you'd be coming in within the next few weeks," Lieutenant Chase said, "Major Thomas will see you in a moment."

She got up and went through another door, obviously announcing who was here to see him and then came back out. "You can go in now. It is good to see you back, sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant it is good to be back," he answered, feeling a little odd as they went into the other office. It was weird being spoken to with such respect and especially being called Lieutenant Colonel.

It took over an hour to work through everything, he'd already been debriefed in Germany and they had all the information they needed. All that Thomas was doing was starting the process of Sinjin getting his backpay, medals and talking to him about staying in the military or taking a medical discharge from the Army.

"Sir, do you need a little starting out cash, we can provide you with that until the rest of your backpay is released to you," Major Thomas asked.

Sinjin looked at String who'd been quiet through it all. "I think you can wait on that Sinj," String said.

"You sure, I can pay room and board, ya know?" Sinjin said feeling that he owed his brother something.

The look String gave him almost made him laugh.

"Okay, but once I start getting paid you'll let me take care of Le's schooling at least?" Sinjin knew that Le was attending a private school and String and Cait were paying for it.

Hawke frowned and then sighed. "He is your son," he admitted. "It's your right to do it but just know you don't have to. I made that promise to him because he wanted to attend the same school as Emily."

Major Thomas raised an eyebrow. "You have a son?"

"Yes, it should be listed in the file, I married while in Vietnam, when I was released for 3 years and then was recaptured and taken to Russia," Sinjin explained.

"Oh, yes I see. Here it is. Your son gets an educational stipend benefit due to your status. Normally, we would not count the subsequent years because you were only a POW during an actual war for 4 years but then released for 3 years. That would have ended your POW status and made you officially AWOL at that point but because you were recaptured and you had spent most of that 3 years recovering from the torture of the previous 4 years the DOD filed a waiver on your behalf. You are technically still active duty, sir. The powers that be decided to give you all 16 years of pay and promotions because your file is such a mess, sir," Major Thomas told him and Sinjin chuckled.

"Try living it, son," he told him and the man's face turned red.

"Err, well, yeah, sorry. I didn't mean offense," the major said and String laughed.

"He's just jerking your chain, Thomas," String offered giving his brother a look and Sinjin grinned.

"No offense taken, but it wasn't a picnic I'll tell you that much," Sinjin said.

"No sir, I saw the medical files that were submitted for the VA vouchers that is why I'm asking about the disability. The doctors all said they would recommend discharge due to the fact you've endured so much but they wanted to leave that up to you as well. If you wanted to continue your service in your current rank of Lieutenant Colonel you'd be flying a desk but your disabilities don't preclude you from desk duty should you want it. I know you have a lot of therapy to contend with that that none of your captivity except maybe East Germany had held with the Geneva Convention but the docs are leaving it up to you and how your therapy goes, sir," Thomas said.

"I, uh, I hadn't really considered it. I have been out of the loop so long, I mean I don't how half of what's happened around the world, let alone here at home in 16 years," Sinjin said and Thomas nodded.

"You don't have to decide now, sir. You have a couple months at least for that. Do you want us to mail the medals to you or do you wish for a pinning ceremony? Or wait until you decide what you want to do, we could do the pinning upon your return to duty if you wish."

"Just wait on them until I figure something out," Sinjin said with a frown. He didn't know what to think right now.

"All right, well sign here and here and we'll get the ball continuing to roll from where it started in Germany," Thomas told him, pointing to where to sign. Sinjin did so and he and String said goodbye and left.

When they arrived back in Van Nuys, Sinjin was tired but didn't mention anything to String about it. They'd be going back to the cabin soon, String just needed to check in with Dom to make sure he didn't need to do anything at the hanger for him.

Sinjin limped slowly to one of the desks in the hanger and leaned against it, not wanting to sit down since they'd just been sitting for an hour in the helicopter. He glanced at some of the paperwork on the desk and picked up the clipboard, looking at the calculations there for fuel and found himself shocked at how expensive it was compared to what it was when he was last buying fuel at the hanger as a teenager. Damn. Talk about sticker shock. Gas was 28 cents a gallon back then now it was 90 cents. It was just another reminder of how much he needed to re-learn about the world.

Dom walked over to join him while String was taking a look at one of the cameras to make sure it was ready for some filming Dom and Toni were going to do in the valley tomorrow for a commercial.

"I hear you were given some options this afternoon," Dom said as he took in how tired Sinjin looked.

"Mmm, yeah. Not real sure what to think, I'm not fit for anything right now but I have a few months to decide. Stay in the military or have them cut me loose on a disability discharge. I'm a Lieutenant Colonel now on paper at least, not that I earned it," Sinjin said with a sigh.

"I think what you went through more than earned it, Sinj," Dom told him and Sinjin looked up at him.

"Maybe. I dunno. Hell, I don't even know the most basic of things. I know Reagan is president right now but other than that I can't tell you who the last several were…Johnson was still in office last I heard," Sinjin said with frown.

"Uh, yeah you don't know about Nixon and Watergate, do you?"

"Water what?"

"You need some history lessons. You know, that might be a good way to connect with Le. He's a great student and I think he'd love to help," Dom offered.

"An eleven-year-old teaching his 39-year-old dad history huh?" Sinjin said with a slight chuckle.

"Hey, at least you don't need Emily to teach ya," Dom teased him and Sinjin laughed at that.

"Guess I need to see about getting a library card," he said with a grin and Dom nodded.

"That's the spirit. Catch back up, and then see how you feel. If you decide you want to stay in the military, ya know, I think I know a way you can be stationed right here at the airport if you want it," Dom told him, thinking of having Sinjin work at Tala Star. Sinjin thought that was a weird thing to say about being stationed at the airport but let it go for now.

When String walked up wiping his hands on a rag, he announced he had the camera ready for tomorrow and Dom thanked him. String was better at the fiddly part of getting the camera settings just right than he was.

"Think you can take your old brother on another errand before we head up to the cabin?" Sinjin asked. He was still bone tired but really wanted to pick up some books.

Surprised, Hawke looked at him for a moment. "Sure, whatcha need?"

"I want to go to the library, I need to get some history books if I'm ever going to catch up on everything," Sinjin answered and String's eyebrow rose.

"Sounds good to me, it shouldn't take long," String said and he and Sinjin said goodbye to Dom as they headed out to String's Jeep.

A week and a half later and it was coming up on Le and Emily's first Halloween with the family. Caitlin had managed to finagle a little bit of Halloween decorations out of Hawke at the cabin. Caitlin made a wreath for the door but wasn't up to doing too much. She helped the kids make a garland from construction paper leaves, bats, cats and ghosts on the stair rail to the loft and the archway to the new addition, she wrangled Sinjin into helping with that.

Hawke was fine with it, it wasn't overly done and it looked cute plus made Cait and the kids happy so he didn't mind and Sinjin thought it was nice too. He hadn't seen decorations for any holidays since he left for 'Nam so it was kind of cheerful.

Sinjin and String even helped a bit with the jack-o-lanterns. Sinjin drew and helped Le draw the designs for the garland cut outs and did the same with one of the jack-o-lanterns. He also made sure the kids were safe with it, guiding Le on how to cut his pumpkin. Emily was too young to use a knife yet so String had helped out and done the cutting for her but Sinjin helped to get Emily started on gutting the pumpkin, she thought it was 'gross' at first. So, he and his brother set to work showing her how to do it, showing her the seeds and she became fascinated enough to get her hands dirty too. That helped Caitlin because she discovered the smell of the fresh pumpkin was not agreeing with her too well and had to leave the room. Emily of course used that to state yet again that it was so gross it ran off mommy.

Sinjin had been attending both physical and emotional therapy the last week and half, four days a week in fact. He was starting to tell a little difference in his stamina and it seemed he was starting to gain a little weight. Just a few pounds but it was better than nothing. Nothing but the pills he was taking were helping with the nightmares though.

The night before Halloween Sinjin had a nightmare so bad he'd awoken the entire house. The kids room was closest to his and it was Le who came to him first. Sinjin had been sitting up in bed, clutching at his chest and breathing hard trying to catch his breath. Le opened the door just enough to poke his head in and asked if it was okay for him to come in.

Sinjin swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah, sorry I woke you. It was a bad one," he admitted. They all knew he had them, there wasn't any hiding the nightmares and none of them seemed bothered. Just then he heard the door creak open again and a little face with big blue eyes was peeking in.

"Emily, oh sweetie, I'm sorry I woke you," Sinjin told her and she just shook her head.

"That's okay, I have bad dreams too sometimes. You wanna cuddle? They help me when mommy and daddy cuddle me after a bad dream," she offered sleepily and Sinjin laughed a little bit.

"Why not? Come on, both of you," he offered and both kids clamored up on the bed on either side of him.

The kids and Sinjin didn't know String was standing in the hallway, he simply smiled to himself and returned upstairs to tell Caitlin not to worry. The kids had this one.

The bedside lamp was still on as Sinjin sat up with the kids for a little while, feeling somewhat better now and a little calmer. The kids snuggled up against his shirtless chest and Emily gasped when she saw his scars. There were a lot of them.

"Uncle Sinjin?"

"Yeah, Em?"

"Did you get these in the war or in the prison?" she asked leaning up to look at the scars that decorated his chest, side and stomach. Le sat up too and felt his stomach clench from the sight of the scars on his father's skin.

"Most of them in the prison, I got this one here on my side in the war though. Bullet ricochet caught me," Sinjin explained.

"But you were already a prisoner why hurt you more?" Emily asked sadly and Le echoed her.

"Yeah, it wasn't like you were doing anything to them, right?" Le asked.

"A lot of guys went through the same thing. They wanted us to say things, do things that we didn't want to do. Things that would go against our country and our beliefs as soldiers. So, they would punish us to try to force us into doing what they wanted," Sinjin explained.

"That's just dumb," Emily proclaimed and Le echoed her again.

Sinjin laughed and nodded. "Yeah. It is dumb."

"Daddy has marks like these on his back," Emily said then.

"What?" Sinjin asked in surprise.

"He has a bunch of scars too, ones like these on his back and one like this on his shoulder and a bumpy one on his side right here," she said pointing and poking Sinjin in the side a little.

His dad looked confused and Le looked up at him. "He was captured in the war too but not for very long," Le explained.

"He never mentioned it," Sinjin said softly.

"He doesn't talk about it much, I think he feels it was nothing compared to what you and some of the other soldiers went through so he doesn't talk about it. I managed to get him to explain a little when I asked about his medals. We were getting things moved around for the nursery and I dropped a box that had the medals in it. We started asking what they were and he started telling us what each one was for. I asked about one of them and he was quiet a long time before he said it was a POW medal. I asked if it was yours and he said no, it was his. He didn't say anything else after that so I had to ask Aunt Cait later and she only told me he'd been held for a few months and that was all she would say too," Le explained.

Sinjin swallowed hard not liking to hear that his little brother had been through even a day of what he had. It explained the story he was told, explained why he'd been given his brother's dog tags and where they likely came from.

"We need to talk about something happy so we can go back to sleep and have good dreams," Emily blurted out and Le and Sinjin laughed a little.

"Okay, what do you have in mind?"

"Halloween is tomorrow!" she said happily and Sinjin laughed.

"Are you looking forward to trick-or-treating?"

"Yep, but I'm just really looking forward to dressing up. Mommy found me such a cool Strawberry Shortcake costume!" Emily said happily and Le laughed. The girl was obsessed with the Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

"I haven't seen your costume yet, Le," Sinjin told the boy and Le shrugged.

"I still don't know, I'm 11 now," he said not sure if he was too old for it.

"You gotta go with me, Le," Emily whined and Sinjin laughed.

"Do you have a costume?" Sinjin asked.

"Yeah, Grandpa Dom helped me get it, it's a firefighter costume," he said. "I still have it in my room but I just haven't been sure if I'm too old for it."

"You're never too old for Halloween!" Emily said. "Even Mommy dresses up. It took her a while to decide but she's going to come down with us, she won't walk with us but she'll be at the hanger for when Meg's class comes by. She's going as Raggedy Ann."

Sinjin laughed. He could easily see Caitlin dressed as Raggedy Ann and the dress should be comfortable for her this late in her pregnancy.

Le sighed, it wasn't like he had to wear the costume to school since Halloween was on a Saturday this year. He just didn't want some of the other kids to tease him. "I'll wear the costume and walk with you, Emily," Le told her and she leaned across Sinjin and gave her cousin a kiss on his cheek.

Sinjin thought it was adorable how close the two cousins were. "Okay, now that we've settled that, why don't you kids head back to bed?"

"You sure? We could stay with you if you want," Emily said. "It always helps when mommy and daddy sleep with me when I have bad dreams."

Sinjin smiled at the sweet girl. "I think I'll be okay, you want me to tuck you back in?"

"Sure!"

He got up with the kids, tucked in Emily first and then followed Le to his bedroom and tucked him in too even though the boy said he was a little old for it.

"Humor me, I've missed getting to do this since you were just a baby," Sinjin told him and Le looked up at his dad and nodded.

"Dad?"

It was the first time the boy had said it directly that way and Sinjin paused as he was reaching for the light on the nightstand. The simple three letter word had made his heart trip in his chest.

"Yeah?"

"Are you gona be okay?" Le asked in concern.

"Yeah, Le. With all the love and help that you and the family are giving me I'm gona be just fine, kiddo," Sinjin told him.

"Good, I'm really glad you're home. I know it has really made Uncle String and grandpa happy and me too," Le told him honestly.

Sinjin leaned down and brushed the fringe of Le's hair off his forehead and smiled at him. "I know. I'm glad too. Get some sleep, son," he whispered and brushed a kiss across the boy's forehead before he turned out the light. He quietly closed the door to Le's room and instead of heading back to bed he wandered to the kitchen to get a drink.

He noticed the light was on in the kitchen and found String leaning against the counter drinking a glass of water.

"Did I wake you too?"

"It's fine, I had to build up the fire in here again anyway, it was getting chilly," String told him.

Sinjin got himself a glass of water too and leaned against the other counter. They were both in pajama bottoms and nothing else and they could easily see each other's scars. The kids weren't kidding, String had scars too.

"I didn't know…about you being a POW too," Sinjin said motioning with his glass toward String's shoulder where he could easily see a whip scar that wrapped up from his back.

"Le tell you?" String asked making a bit of a face.

"The topic came up when Emily commented on my scars and said you had scars too," Sinjin said.

"I saw the kids went to check on you. I just went back upstairs but couldn't get back to sleep and then realized it was because I was cold," String said.

"You're avoiding the question," Sinjin said calling his brother on it and watching as String's face fell into an impassive mask.

"It isn't important," String said as if that would end the conversation.

"It kinda is, I was told you'd been captured and killed but it wasn't true. I didn't know the captured part was true though. I thought that was part of the lie as well, why didn't you tell me?"

"It didn't matter. You felt bad enough, Sinj, it didn't matter anymore. I was captured, he took my dog tags and tortured you with them. How am I supposed to feel about it? Why talk about it? It is nothing, *nothing* compared to what you went through," String said, turning and dumping out his glass of water into the sink and carefully setting the glass down to keep from breaking it.

"Well hell it isn't a fucking contest, String. I want to know what you went through, you know what I went through. Why can't you just tell me what happened with you? I know about everything from when you got together with Cait and when Emily and Le came into your life in the last year but nothing since the war. You haven't told me anything and I get the feeling sometimes there are things you don't want me to know," Sinjin said earnestly, not understanding why String wouldn't talk to him.

"Sinjin, now isn't the time, it's the middle of the damn night and we both need sleep," String told him tiredly.

"When is the time then?" Sinjin asked angrily. Why was String being so damn secretive?

"I don't know but right now is not it," String snapped back.

"What is it you don't want me to know?" Sinjin demanded.

"Goddamn it Sinj, let it go," String said hoping his brother wouldn't keep pushing him.

"String…what is it?"

Hawke couldn't take the tone of his brother's voice just then and blew up. "It's my fault, is that what you want to hear? It's my fault you were captured, my fault you were tortured and led to believe I was dead. Hell, it was my fault for getting captured in the first place because I defied my orders and went looking for you! All of it was my fucking fault, I left you there. I knew I shouldn't have listened to you. I knew in my gut and I let you order me out of there!"

"Let me order you out? I ordered you out, full stop, I was your superior officer, String. You didn't have a choice and you'd have cost ten men their lives if you had stayed and you know it. My life was not worth theirs, no matter what you think," Sinjin told him.

"You don't know that, if we'd stayed it might have saved you and the others who were captured that day," String's tone was so sad and plaintive that Sinjin felt his heart break for his brother. He's been holding this in for 16 years, all of this guilt he should never have felt, he realized. String had always been headstrong and too sensitive when it came to him. They were all the blood family they had left for so long.

Sinjin moved toward String and the younger man actually flinched back. "Hey…hey, now," he said as if soothing a frightened animal, raising his free hand not holding his cane with his palm up as if in surrender. "You did what you were supposed to do, String. I get that you've been beating yourself up for the last 16 years but I want you to know that I never, ever, not once blamed *you* for what happened. It was war, it was confusing and hell it was my fault for being shot down the way I was. I knew better but I took a risk and screwed up. We all make mistakes, little brother. We, YOU are only human, kid," he told him as he pulled the younger man against him with his good arm and just held onto him as he felt String's body shake.

"I let you down, Sinj," String said tearfully and Sinjin held him tighter.

"Never. You've never let me down, String. You kept looking for 16 years, you took in my son, you took care of him, you never let me down," Sinjin told him with tears on his face as well.

The two brothers just stood holding onto each other for a while until they both regained their composure and stepped back from each other. String grabbed a couple paper towels and handed one to Sinjin and they both mopped up their faces and looked down at the floor at the same time.

"You believe me, right? You have nothing to feel guilty for, String," Sinjin told him again.

"I'm attempting to," String said with a semblance of a grin.

"That's all I can ask. So, what about the other scars?" Sinjin asked.

"Shoulder was a gun shot, through and through, side shrapnel wound, a piece of my own helicopter got blown into my side. Broke a couple ribs and put me down for a little while," he told him.

"That on your arm?"

"That uh, that came from some work I was doing after the war with a um, a place called the FIRM an offshoot of the CIA," String told him a little uncomfortably.

"That why you are so secretive?" Sinjin asked.

"There is a lot I still need to tell you, Sinjin but…it is a really long story and it, well…there is a lot of stuff I shouldn't tell you but…"

"But you plan to anyway," Sinjin said with a grin, knowing String might keep secrets from others but rarely from him. That was why he had been so confused by how String had been acting.

"Yeah, I just need to see about some things first," String explained and Sinjin figured he needed to clear some things with whoever it was he worked with.

"Are Dom and Cait involved?" Sinjin asked.

"Yeah and Michael and Marella," String told him and Sinjin nodded.

"Okay, take your time on that part but I don't want you to hide stuff from me, String. I need to know what your life has been like, I thought about you every single day you know?"

"I did you too. Everyday. I wouldn't let myself forget. I've worn this thing for years so I would never forget," String said, holding out his arm so that Sinjin could see the bracelet with his name and capture date on it.

"What is that?"

"There was a group who made them so that the missing would never be forgotten. I've never taken it off," String told him.

Sinjin bit his lower lip and shook his head. As much physical and mental torture as he had endured his little brother had tortured himself with guilt and memories.

"You probably could now. I'm home and I'm not going anywhere," Sinjin told him.

String smiled a little. "Maybe one day when I realize this all isn't a dream."

Sinjin laughed, knowing he'd had to pinch himself a number of times since he came home.


	33. Chapter 33

Halloween went well enough, though Sinjin and String were a bit sleepy that day after their late-night talk. Le and Emily had a blast though, the two cousins were wired from all the excitement that night and it was hard to get them put down for bed.

In the early morning hours of November 1st, Caitlin was awoken by a sharp pain and she realized immediately it was a contraction. She breathed through it and then reached over and shook String's arm.

"Hmm? Cait you okay?" he asked sleepily.

"Not exactly. I think little Jamie isn't going to wait until his due date," she said softly.

"Oh," String said still half asleep and then it dawned on him what she said. "Oh! Uh, hang on a sec," he said as he got up and went around to her side of the bed to help Caitlin up.

"You want me to grab you some clothes?"

"Forget the clothes just give me my robe and tennis shoes," Caitlin answered, her back was absolutely killing her.

"Got it," he brought her shoes and her robe and then got down to put the shoes on her feet.

"Lemme grab a shirt and jeans," he told her and disappeared into the closet to get his things. He dressed quickly and helped her up. He grabbed her suitcase from beside the stairs and helped her down the staircase.

"Lemme go wake up Sinj," he told her and headed off to his brother's bedroom.

"Sinjin?" he said as he knocked and opened the door.

"Hmm, String something…oh…Cait?"

"Yep, Jamie's a few days early," String told him.

"You guys go on, I'll radio Dom and us and the kids will meet you at the hospital," the older man said as he got up and started to get some clothes.

Hawke raced back out to the living room where Caitlin was waiting. "Anymore contractions?"

"Not yet. I think we've plenty of time to get to Tala Star," she told him.

"Okay, we can radio from the helicopter, come on," he said as he put Caitlin's coat on her and shrugged into his own.

The couple headed out to the helicopter and he helped Caitlin get in. Once she was settled he did a quick preflight check and then got in to find Cait doing the preflight inside. In labor and she's doing preflight, he thought with a grin to himself.

Once they were in the air, Hawke radioed ahead to Tala Star and they said they'd have the doctor and delivery team there by the time they arrived. He radioed Michael too who wasn't too thrilled with being woken at 2am but when Hawke told him why he said he and Marella would meet them there.

Meanwhile, Sinjin had called Dom and then got dressed and got the kids up and dressed. Emily was grumpy at first until he told her that her little brother was on his way. She practically leapt out of bed at that and Sinjin almost laughed at how fast the little girl went to get some clothes.

He left her to it and went to wake Le who was just as excited.

Emily was first to come out of her room and Sinjin caught her in the hall to take her to the bathroom and comb her hair. After he'd done that he told her to brush her teeth and wash her face and he'd be waiting in the kitchen.

Once the kids were ready, he sat them down in the living room and gave them both a cup of hot chocolate while they waited on Dom to get there.

"I want you kids to behave yourselves at the hospital okay? You stick close to Dom and myself and don't go wandering off. The baby may take a while to get here or he could come quickly, they all kinda go on their own schedule. You won't be able to see Caitlin and String until after the baby is born most likely. Don't be too loud when you see the baby you don't want to startle him okay?" Sinjin explained to the kids and they both nodded as they drank their hot chocolate.

He gathered the little tote bag that Emily carried everywhere with some things to keep her occupied and told Le to get his backpack with whatever he needed. The kids were both yawning when Sinjin heard the helicopter coming and he had them get up and put their coats on. Dom touched down on the dock and the kids ran out ahead of Sinjin as he limped as quickly as he could.

"Ya know Jamie could have waited until sunrise," Dom grumbled and Sinjin laughed as he buckled in.

"Already keeping us on our toes, huh?" Sinjin told the older man who laughed.

"Just like a Hawke," Dom said with a grin and they took to the air again.

When Dom angled back toward Van Nuys, Sinjin was confused, he figured they were going to the hospital in Fox Ridge.

"Where we going?"

"To the clinic where Cait's having the baby, they have a uh, special set up. There is a bunch String still hasn't had a chance to talk to you about but it's back at the airport," Dom told him.

"We're going to Uncle Michael and Aunt Marry's place," Emily said from her spot in the back.

Sinjin turned and looked at the child and Le looked at his dad and shrugged.

"There is a medical clinic at Tala Star, we all go there," Le explained.

"I thought Tala Star was an aviation research place?" Sinjin asked.

"Well, it is…but it's also umm…well, we sort of work for them too," Dom said with a sheepish look. "String would be best to explain it all."

"I see, it has something to do with the CIA work he did?"

"Uh, yeah…don't know what all he told you yet but yeah," Dom told him.

Sinjin let it go for now but he hoped his brother was going to fill him in soon.

They arrived at the Tala Star hanger and Michael met them at the doorway. "Come on, Cait and Hawke are already in a room with the medical team. Her contractions are getting closer together now and Marella is checking in on them and should have an update in a few minutes," the man said as he held the door open.

Emily ran over and hugged the man and he laughed. "Hello, Emily, do you and Le want to wait in the classroom?"

"Can we?"

"Sure can, Tracy is here," Michael told her and both kids smiled.

They had planned ahead of time that when Cait came in to have the baby, no matter what time of day or night that Tracy would come to watch Le and Emily and keep them occupied. No one could ever predict how long or short labor could be so they thought it best.

Tracy came down the hall about that time and Sinjin looked up and felt his breath catch. The woman coming toward them looked like a Nordic princess with a gorgeous smile, her eyes were a bright hazel and her long straight hair was a light ash blonde. She was tall and slender and Sinjin wasn't sure if he'd ever seen a more beautiful woman in his life.

Emily ran to the woman and hugged her as did his own son, Le. "Hey, there, I hear you have a new family member on his way. Why don't we go in the classroom and you can either play or you can lay on the mats and get a little rest. It may take a while for little Jameson to show up," she told them.

The kids ran ahead to the day care classroom and Dom greeted the pretty blonde. "Hi, Tracy, sorry my grandson couldn't wait until a more decent hour," Dom said and she laughed.

"Babies come when they come, Mr. Santini," she said with a shrug.

"How many times do I need to tell you to call me Dom?"

"Old habits, sir," she said with a smile. "I'll keep trying, Dom."

"Sinjin, I'd like you to meet Tracy Rogers, she's the kids' day care teacher, she watches them here sometimes for us. She was a great help when we went to Germany to get you. She helped Caitlin with the kids quite a bit and flew them up to the cabin after school each day," Dom explained.

Sinjin just stared at the woman a moment feeling a little uncertain of himself in front of someone so beautiful. "Uh, hello, it's nice to meet you," he said offering his hand.

"Oh, it is nice to meet you too, sir. I am so glad you are back with us again," she told him seriously. This man had been a POW for 16 years, it was amazing to her that he was still alive. "Your son, Le is an absolute pleasure to have around. He is so good with little Emily."

"Thank you, he is a great kid," Sinjin told her and realized he was still holding her hand. He released it and offered her a smile. "I uh, better let you go, never know what Emily will get up to."

"Isn't that the truth!" she said with a smile and headed down the hall where the kids had gone. That man had been through hell and back and still managed to carry on. Despite all the man had gone through, he was still kind of cute, she thought. He had a nice smile and beautiful blue eyes, like his brother's. He looked older because of the gray hair but it was understandable after all he'd gone through. All in all, Saint John Hawke was an impressive man in her eyes and she adored his son and niece that was for sure.

Dom noticed the way Sinjin's eyes had followed Miss Tracy and smiled knowingly at the man. Tracy was very pretty and Sinjin had certainly taken notice from the reaction he'd seen. Michael saw Dom's smile and shook his head and almost laughed aloud. The old man was already scheming to try and find Sinjin a girl to settle down with like String it appeared.

"Gentlemen, let's go see if the newest Hawke is here yet," Michael said as he led them back to the medical clinic area of the facility. "String had me call Caitlin's parents, they are on their way from Texas," Michael explained.

"Oh, good. I was going to ask if anyone had called them," Dom said as they went into a small waiting area.

"Let me see if Marella has any news," Michael told them and went over to pick up a phone on the wall. He spoke for a few moments and then came back to them.

"Still not here yet but Caitlin's water broke a short time ago and her contractions are closer together now, so she said it shouldn't be too much longer," Michael explained.

"Wonder if she's cursing String yet?" Sinjin said with a grin and they all laughed, remembering the conversation a few weeks ago in the helicopter on the way to the cabin.

In the birthing room, Hawke was actually surprised at how quiet Caitlin had been, a few guttural moans during a contraction or two but she hadn't been quite as scary as some people describe. She was chanting something under her breath but he couldn't hear what it was but it sounded like 'shit' over and over. She was however, cutting the circulation off in his hand but he wasn't going to complain.

Another contraction hit, much closer to the last one and the doctor announced they were very close. Toward the end of that contraction Caitlin did finally let out a yell and as she collapsed back on the bed to take a breath she blurted out, "Fucking hell!"

The doctor chuckled and told her to try to catch her breath before the next one and she said, "Doc, I like you but if you laugh at me again during this I'm going to kick you in the face."

Afraid she might turn on him, Hawke bit his lip to keep from laughing but he desperately wanted to especially from the look that the doctor gave her as he peered over the sheet. "Yes, Mrs. Hawke," Dr. McCoy answered kindly in return.

Marella who was also in the room, just staying out of the way but hanging around just in case. She was a trained medical doctor as well and thought that Caitlin would appreciate her sticking around. She also thought the doctor was lucky Caitlin didn't just up and kick him. She, herself might have if someone laughed when she was in labor.

Hawke was doing surprisingly well as her coach though, Marella thought. He did wince a few times when Caitlin squeezed his hand but he didn't say a word. He helped her breathe through the contractions and kept telling her she was beautiful, she was doing great, that he loved her and other words of encouragement that frankly shocked Marella. Hawke had never been a verbally demonstrative man, though he had changed in the last year. He was more open and a bit friendlier than he used to be and ever since he came back from Germany a few weeks ago with Sinjin he was much more relaxed it seemed.

All of Caitlin's hard work was soon rewarded when the doctor announced that the baby was crowning to give a big push on the next contraction. Caitlin was exhausted already but took a deep breath and looked at Hawke, he nodded. "You can do it, baby," he whispered and in seconds the next contraction hit and she pushed until the doctor told her to stop, then suddenly the sound of crying filled the room as the baby entered the world.

"Just as the ultrasound said, you've got a baby boy," the doctor announced as the nurse took the baby to clean up, measure and weigh. "Okay, just a bit more and you're done."

By the time the nurse returned with the baby, Caitlin's tears of exhaustion turned to those of joy as she looked at the face of their child. The baby calmed once he was in his mother's arms, his cries lessening to whimpers and the nurse offered Hawke a damp cloth which he used to wipe Caitlin's forehead and the tears from her face.

"He knows his mama already," Hawke told her as the child peered up at Caitlin. Hawke reached out and touched the tiny hand and it grabbed onto his finger. "Hello, Jameson Elias Hawke, welcome to the world," he told the baby and Caitlin smiled.

Marella slipped out of the room to give them time and went out to the waiting room.

Dom and Sinjin were both dozing in their chairs, it had been over 6 hours since Caitlin and Hawke had left the cabin this morning and everyone was sleepy. The kids were even asleep in the daycare classroom. Michael was reading through some files in his lap. He looked up and Marella's smile told him everything was just fine with the Hawke's.

Sinjin woke quickly, she had barely taken a few steps from the doorway when he sat up. Apparently trained to not let anyone sneak up on him in his sleep after his years in captivity.

"Any word?"

"Yep, baby Jameson Elias Hawke made his entry to the world a short time ago. I'll let Cait and Hawke…err, String give you the details but he has all his fingers and all his toes and I think he already has his parents in love with him," Marella said.

Michael smiled and said he couldn't wait to meet the newest Hawke.

Sinjin smiled as well, relieved all went well and stood up slowly, stretching out aching joints and muscles as he did so. "If you'll wake Dom, I'll go wake the kids, they'll want to be here when they are ready to see us," Sinjin said as he limped down the hallway toward the daycare classroom.

When he entered the classroom, he saw the kids asleep on the floor mats next to each other and Tracy was sitting at her desk doing paperwork.

"My nephew finally decided to join us," he whispered and she gave him a radiant smile.

"Oh, congratulations," she said happily as she stood up.

She and Sinjin moved to wake the kids. It was hard for him to kneel but he did so anyway as he woke Le and Tracy woke Emily.

"Hey, kiddos, Jameson is here," he told them and Emily whooped as she scrambled up and hugged Sinjin.

"I have a baby brother!" she said happily and he laughed. Well, no worries about her being jealous.

Le rubbed his eye with his fist and blinked. "He's here?"

"Yep, just a few minutes ago, why don't you come down to the infirmary. Cait and String will want to introduce him to us soon," he told them as he struggled to get up. Tracy reached out and gave him a little help as he leaned heavily on his cane. "Thanks," he said to her, embarrassed that he had to have help just to get up from taking a knee.

"No worries," she said kindly to him. He had a lot of muscle to rebuild after his lifetime of mistreatment and malnutrition. It would take at minimum a year to regain all the muscle tone and strength he'd lost and likely never reach 100%.

As the three went to the door, Sinjin stopped and looked back at the pretty blonde as she folded up the floor mats. "You're welcome to come meet the baby too, ya know?"

"Oh, no, this is a time for family. I'll get to meet him soon enough," she told him and he nodded as he followed the kids back down the hall.

Emily was practically bouncing off the walls so Sinjin had to ask her to settle down, not to be too loud with the baby when they go in. That he was very tired because it is hard work being born and Caitlin will be tired too, Le laughed and said, "I guess that is why they call it labor."

Marella really got a giggle out of that and told the young boy that he was right. Emily was wide eyed after that and nodded. "I'll be very quiet and very good, Uncle Sinjin," she said solemnly and he smiled at her.

"I know, sweetheart, I just wanted to make sure you were careful when we go in there," he told her.

Dom smiled at him and a few minutes later, Hawke stepped out of the delivery room. "Jameson is healthy and Caitlin is doing well but exhausted. She wants to see everyone though and wants to introduce Jameson to you all. He was 6 pounds 7 ounces and 20.4 inches long," he announced and it was obvious the new dad was happy, he hadn't stopped smiling.

Emily ran over to him and hugged him and he returned the hug. "You ready to meet your baby brother? I think we are going to call him Jamie, he's so small and Jameson is such a big name," he told her and she nodded.

Everyone followed Hawke into the room and the doctor and nurse stepped out to give them plenty of room for the family. Caitlin was sitting up in the bed with the baby in her arms, he was swaddled in a little blue and green blanket and had a little blue stocking hat on his head.

"Why does he have a stocking hat?" Emily asked curiously as she came close to the bed.

"That's to keep him warm, newborns need a little help to keep warm," Marella told the curious girl.

"Come on over, Em," Caitlin invited the girl and Emily walked up slowly.

"Daddy said you were tired," Emily said to her and she could tell her mother looked awfully tired.

"I am, it was a lot of work having Jamie, but he's worth it," Caitlin said with a grin. Hawke walked over and picked up Emily so she could see her brother better.

"Whatcha think?" he asked and the girl smiled.

"He's cute!" she said happily and everyone laughed. "Come see him, Le," Emily invited and Le walked over to check out the baby too.

"He doesn't have any eyebrows," Le said and Hawke laughed.

"They'll grow in, he doesn't have much hair on his head yet either," he told him.

The baby yawned hugely and Emily giggled. "He's tired too," she said and Hawke nodded.

"Yeah, he'll sleep a lot at first but he'll grow fast," Hawke explained to the child and she nodded.

"Like when Sally was a puppy, she slept a lot," Emily recalled.

"Just like that, babies sleep a lot it helps them grow," Caitlin told her. "String, set her on the bed here so she can see him better."

He did so and Emily was careful not to wiggle around too much. Le came up a little closer and reached up to touch a little foot that was sticking out the bottom of the blanket. "Look at his little feet," he said to Emily who leaned over and smiled.

"His toes are so tiny!"

All the adults laughed and Caitlin looked up at Dom. "So, grandpa, you want to hold your grandson?"

"More than anything," the older man admitted as she handed the baby off to him.

He pulled the blanket back a little more to see the child's face a little better and had tears in his eyes. "Welcome to the family, little guy," he said tearfully. Sinjin moved a little closer and peered down at the baby in his foster father's arms.

"Caitlin, you make beautiful babies," he told her and she blushed as he smiled over at her.

"I think I had something to do with it too," Hawke complained at his brother who laughed.

"Yeah, guess you're right about that," Sinjin teased his brother. "I'm already looking forward to fishing trips in our future."

"It'll be a few years but I think he'd like that," Hawke admitted.

Marella stepped over with Michael and they peeked at the baby in Dom's arms.

"He's really adorable," Marella said and Michael smiled at the couple.

"He really is, congratulations," Michael told them.

"Thank you, thank you for all of this, Michael," Hawke told the man, meaning the medical clinic, the staff on call to help, everything he'd done for them as a family.

"It is my pleasure. Marella and I need to get some work done and I know you, Cait and little Jamie need some rest. You know where we'll be if you need us, Hawke," Michael told him and the pair left. As far as Michael was concerned it was hard for him to call him String so he was Hawke to him and Sinjin was Sinjin.

"You're going to have to explain this place to me sometime, String," Sinjin said as Dom handed the baby back to Caitlin.

"Yeah, I thought I had a few more days at least but someone decided to come earlier than expected," Hawke said with a grin as he turned his attention to Cait. "You want me to put him in the bassinet so you can sleep?"

"Oh, please," Caitlin said.

Hawke took the baby and placed him in the little bed and rolled it close to Caitlin so she could keep an eye on him.

"I need to go talk with Sinjin, I'll be back soon," he told her and kissed her forehead. She reached up and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"You need some rest too," she reminded him.

"I'm fine, you were the one doing all the heavy lifting," he teased her and she smiled. "Come on, Sinj, I can explain over some coffee," he told his brother and they headed out of the room and down another hallway toward the small cafeteria they had at the facility.

"What is this place?" Sinjin asked.

"Well, it is a long story, let's get our coffee and maybe a snack or something, I'm starving," Hawke admitted. "I'll tell you everything then."

The two brothers sat down and String began explaining everything to Sinjin. How he'd re-upped in Vietnam twice after Sinjin had been captured. How he got involved with the FIRM after Vietnam and worked for them as an operative for a few years. He explained about Airwolf and how he left the program as test pilot because of Moffett and him not getting along. Sinjin was shocked to learn that Michael's eye injury and leg injury came from Moffett turning on the FIRM and flying off to Libya. String explained that Michael offered him a million dollars to retrieve Airwolf but he refused in exchange for him finding Sinjin instead.

"You gave up a million dollars for them to look for me? Wow," Sinjin said, thankful and not really that surprised but still thankful nonetheless.

"You're worth more than that to me, Sinj. More than money," String told him seriously.

"So, you got this Airwolf back and then what?" Sinjin asked.

"Uh, well…I didn't trust the FIRM, I knew what they were like and knew that as soon as I gave them Airwolf they'd keep their money and not look for you…so…I kept Airwolf," Hawke said with a shrug.

"Wait a minute, you just kept a multi-billion-dollar piece of CIA hardware? When exactly did you lose your mind?" Sinjin asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I've uh, had it for about 4 years now," Hawke admitted and took a sip of his coffee. "So, anyway, Dom found a place to hide her and we've had her ever since. But over the last few years I've run a lot of missions for the FIRM specifically for Michael and while we have some bad enemies and people who've tried to steal Airwolf we have also done a lot of good. There was a mission last year that convinced the President that I should remain the pilot of Airwolf, and they should not bother getting her back from me at all. They decided she was safer in my hands than even in the military's. When Emily came into our lives I asked Michael to see if he could find a way for me not to be on the ground anymore. I was safer inside Airwolf. It gave Michael the chance to break away from the FIRM and move to another even more top secret agency called the NRO, this facility has only been here since January. They set it up specifically for Airwolf," String explained.

"Specifically? You mean this whole place pretty much revolves around that helicopter and you and Dom and Cait?" Sinjin asked, completely shocked.

"Pretty much. We aren't doing much combat or anything, even though her weapons systems are still top of the line and upgraded recently. She's still where we hid her, we only bring her in for 'check ups' and upgrades here at the hanger. We have a computer team and we mostly do research now. We worked a major hurricane a few months ago with the hurricane hunters out of Keesler and we've done other research work. We are still sort of getting back on track with the Lady as Dom calls her because the upgrades took so long and life has just been hectic with the kids, finding you and so on," Hawke said as he drained the last of his cup, grimacing a bit at the bitter taste of the now cold brew.

"Good Lord, String. Well, you've been busy for a while, now haven't you? I can't believe you drug Dom into it and Caitlin too?" Sinjin said still having a hard time understanding all of this.

"Yeah, I guess I have been busy. Dom was the only person I could trust when I went to Libya. You know how hard it is to find someone you can trust with your life like that and Caitlin…do you remember my friend Jimmy from the war?"

"Oh yeah, sure you and he went through boot together. Saved our butts a couple times," Sinjin recalled.

Hawke explained about the crooked Sherriff in Pope County and how he met Caitlin. "We left and I never thought I'd see her again, though I did think she was really something. A few months later she showed up at the hanger one day. She'd brought Jimmy's body home for burial and looked me up. We had kind of left her with a lot of explaining that she couldn't really do about the town getting all shot up and she had a rough time with her superiors so she took a leave of absence and came here. Dom ended up liking her and giving her a job. We got together last December when Emily came into our lives," he explained. Hawke had already told him all about how Emily had come into their lives, minus the Airwolf and FIRM part of the story.

"Damn. Sorry to hear about Jimmy," Sinjin said shaking his head. "I'm surprised you waited so long to get together with Cait though."

"Yeah, that is kinda a long story too," Hawke said with a grin. He got up and got himself and Sinjin refills on their coffee from the machine and sat down to explain about the curse he thought he had on him and what made him realize he should take a chance.

"I'm glad you took that chance with Caitlin, you are so well matched, String. It's obvious how much you love each other," Sinjin told him. He felt bad that his being MIA had contributed to String's fears of loving anyone but it couldn't be changed now.

"Thanks. I'm happier than I've ever been, it scares me a little, I guess you can understand that after what all I just told you but the good far outweighs the bad," Hawke said with a grin.

"I'll say. That little baby in there is certainly a great big good thing even if he's still a little thing and then there is Emily too," Sinjin teased.

"Yeah. We want at least two more too…and there is Le too, he's a wonderful boy, Sinj. Cait and I both love him like a son. Before we got married we discussed kids and we do want more kids but I dunno if Caitlin might have changed her mind after this one. She threatened to kick the doctor in the face if he laughed at her again during the delivery," String told him and Sinjin laughed.

"What'd you say?"

"Not a word, I bit my lip to keep from laughing because I was afraid she'd turn on me. My hand still hurts where she was grinding my bones to dust," Hawke admitted.

"Ouch, anyone who says a woman doesn't have strong hands has never experienced holding their hand during labor," Sinjin said remembering what it was like with Ana. He also appreciated what String had said about Le. He wanted to be a dad to the boy and they were starting to get closer but he was glad that Le had Cait, String and Emily.

Sinjin took a sip of his coffee and then grinned. "Did she curse you?"

"Nope. Not one thing directed at me but I think she was chanting "shit, shit, shit' under her breath during her contractions and the doctor laughed at her when she had a particularly strong contraction and then said, 'fucking hell' that was when she told him off," Hawke said with a shrug. "I guess I got off lucky."

"Yeah, you did. Ana threatened all sorts of violence on me and called me some pretty nasty things in both English and Vietnamese," Sinjin said with a laugh at the memory.

"You know, I told you in Germany but I'm still sorry that you never got to be with her again," Hawke told his brother.

"I know. I only knew her for 3 years but I loved her for so long, hoping to see her again. Now, I'm unsure how to feel. I was in love with a memory of someone who isn't here anymore, someone I haven't seen in about 10 years. It is strange but I guess it will take a little time. When I see a woman now that I might feel attracted to, I feel guilty about it, like I'm being unfaithful," Sinjin explained. He'd felt that way earlier with Tracy Rogers, she was so pretty and he'd immediately felt an attraction but then felt strange and almost embarrassed about it.

"I doubt she would want you to feel that way but I can understand it," Hawke said as he got up to throw away his cup and the container from his sandwich. He'd felt guilty the first time he dated anyone after Gabrielle's death.

"I got a lot of healing physically to do before I even consider women anyway, who'd want to date me like this," Sinjin said self-deprecatingly and sighed.

"The right woman would, Sinj, didn't Ana fall for you when you were in bad shape?"

"Well…yeah…yeah I guess so," Sinjin said with a shrug and got up to follow his brother back to the medical area.


	34. Chapter 34

The Thanksgiving holiday came to Hawke's cabin in a way that was much different than any he'd experienced since he was a child. It was packed tight even with the new expansion.

There was the family itself, newly expanded by two with the homecoming of Sinjin and new baby Jameson. Michael and Marella were coming for dinner as well as Doc and Max and of course Dom. Hawke wasn't entirely sure the cabin had ever hosted this many people at once. But it was very welcome. He was thankful for every person there.

The weather was beautiful that afternoon and a bit warmer than usual so they were going to dine outside in front of the cabin at a big table that the two Hawke brothers built together just for the occasion. They'd had to wrangle some extra chairs from Buddy at the 94th to give everyone a seat at the table but it was well worth the effort, Hawke thought.

Max and Doc had come early in the day, landing on the lake which Emily still thought was "super cool" and Max had been helping Caitlin in the kitchen and giving the nursing mother plenty of breaks as well. Caitlin was more than grateful for the extra help.

Hawke, Doc and Sinjin had kept the kids and dogs occupied and made sure everything outside was set. Everyone would come into the kitchen at one point or another to help out, washing up or cutting vegetables or other things the ladies needed too.

When Dom arrived, he brought a large casserole dish filled with a delicious looking Italian tiramisu for dessert and after hugging the kids and greeting his boys and Doc he headed into the kitchen to help Cait and Max with dinner. Caitlin wanted to make a traditional southern sweet potato casserole and he wanted to learn how to make it and he was going to make a cranberry dish that even Emily wouldn't turn her nose up at, he was sure of it.

Max and Cait already had the turkey in the oven and they were making a stuffed fish dish for String. When Michael and Marella arrived, they brought Tracy Rogers with them.

Sinjin was shocked to see the pretty blonde arrive with Michael and Marella and looked at String to see if he knew the woman would be there. The look on his face clearly said that his younger brother had no idea.

"Hope you have room for one more, Tracy's plan to go home for Thanksgiving fell through because her dad had to fly out to South Korea on short notice. Her mom decided to go to Oregon to spend the day with extended family so it left Tracy with no one to spend the day with," Michael explained as they met the two brothers and Doc in front of the cabin.

"Sorry to crash the party but Michael assured me there'd be room and I brought an entry fee. Marella said you'd be having salmon as well as turkey so I made my mom's rice pilaf that should go well with either," Tracy said with a smile. "Again, I sure hope it isn't a bother having me here."

"Of course not," Hawke told her. "Come on in, I bet that the kids will be absolutely thrilled to see you too."

Hawke motioned her toward the porch and Sinjin turned with her. "Come on, the kitchen is a bit crowded right now but we can put this on the bar if it doesn't need to go in the fridge," Sinjin told her.

"Thanks, it'll be fine on the bar, we'll probably need to reheat it but we can do that just before dinner is done," she said and Caitlin looked up and smiled at her.

"Tracy! What a wonderful surprise," she said coming out of the kitchen to hug the woman. "I thought you were going home?"

"Dad got shipped out to South Korea at the last minute and mom decided to go to Oregon. When Michael found out he and Marella asked me to come up here. I'm sorry to add one more to the crowd though. I did bring a peace offering," she said holding up the large bowl.

"Oh, hon' you didn't have to bring a thing but yourself," Caitlin told her and took the bowl to set on the counter.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked and Caitlin shook her head. "No, I think we are at capacity in the kitchen right now. You could do me a huge favor though and go check on the kids. They are in Le's room, Sinjin can show you the way."

"I'd love to, they have Jameson?"

"Yep, he's with them. They are both so enamored with the baby, I've been lucky having so much help. My mom was here a few weeks and the kids and String and Sinjin have both been awesome help too," Caitlin praised as she went back to the kitchen.

Tracy looked up at Sinjin who'd been quiet as he stood beside her. "Well awesome helper, let's go see those kids, I think it is time for me to get better acquainted with Jameson."

Sinjin laughed as he limped along beside her. "He's a little heartbreaker already I think. Every woman who sees that kid seems to just fall in love with him," Sinjin said with a grin.

"Aww, I imagine so. It is hard for a lot of people to resist a cute baby," she said as they went down the wide hallway. "Wow, this cabin is gorgeous."

"This is the new section but String made sure it matched the old part of the cabin so it didn't look like it was an addition," Sinjin explained as they reached the door to Le's room.

"He did a great job then. I certainly can't tell a difference," she answered and then paused as they could hear giggling. "Listen."

Sinjin listened and he and Tracy were both smiling. They could hear the baby making cooing sounds as Le and Emily talked to him.

Sinjin rapped on the door twice and then opened it. "You guys have a visitor," he announced and Emily carefully got up to not bounce the baby on the bed and came over to hug Tracy.

"I didn't know you were coming, Miss Tracy!"

"It was a last-minute thing. Oh, your little brother sure has grown in the last three weeks," she said as she went into the room and sat down on the edge of Le's bed. Le was sitting on the bed with his palm on the baby's tummy.

"We've been trying to keep him occupied while all the adults get dinner ready. We figured it would be more fun for him to be with us than in his crib just staring at the ceiling," Le explained and Tracy nodded.

"That's very smart, Le. He needs lots of stimulation, talking to him, even though he can't talk yet helps him learn. Can I hold him?" Tracy asked and Le smiled.

"Sure, I bet he'd like that, just watch your hair, he likes to pull," Le told her and Sinjin laughed as Emily sat down on the bed too.

"Yeah, he tried to eat my pigtail last night," Emily said with a grin as Tracy picked the baby up and cuddled him against her chest.

"Oh, aren't you a little sweetheart?" she said to him and Jameson just gazed up at the new face. Sinjin thought it was rather cute the way the baby was gazing up at the pretty blonde.

A few minutes later as Tracy was still cuddling the baby, String knocked on the door. "Cait said I'd find you here. We have about half an hour until dinner is ready," Hawke told them and Tracy looked up at him with a lovely smile.

"Your son is just adorable, Captain Hawke," she told him and he smiled proudly in return.

"Please, Tracy you know to call me String. And thanks, he gets it from his mother," he teased and Tracy laughed.

"Oh, good answer," she told him and Hawke just grinned and headed back to the living room. Sinjin reminded the kids to behave themselves and followed his brother.

"She sure is nice," Sinjin commented as he caught up with String.

"Hmm, oh, Tracy? Yeah, she's really a sweetheart. The kids adore her and she's done a great job with the child care center at Tala Star. Her and another lady named Christa run the center with a couple of the Navy medics with pediatric backgrounds that rotate out. They make sure the center is always staffed to cover all the workers kids. Michael set it up with Cait and I in mind but then realized many of the staff had kids too and decided that it was for the best to have everyone protected since the Lady has so many enemies," Hawke explained.

"I wondered why everything was all in that one place, medical, child care, research and stuff," Sinjin told him.

"Michael was tired of not being able to properly protect all of his people. He might seem paranoid but it is for good reason."

"Well, as long as he's protecting the people I care about, more power to him," Sinjin said with a smile.

Doc and Michael were chatting at the bar and watching the action in the kitchen when the Hawke brothers emerged from the hallway. "You guys want anything to drink?" Hawke asked and Michael nodded.

"Sure, Marella abandoned me to check up on Cait to make sure she's doing well since having the baby. Where are the munchkins anyway?" Michael asked, surprised the kids hadn't come out to greet them.

"They are all in Le's room playing with Jameson and now Tracy is with them," Sinjin explained.

"How are you doing, Sinjin? You look a lot better than you did just a couple weeks ago when I last saw you," Michael said kindly. The man was no longer ghost pale and seemed to be starting to put on a little weight.

"Slow going but I'm getting there," Sinjin told him. "I think being around so much family and friends has really helped more than anything else."

The former spy noticed his friend Hawke smile happily at that revelation. "I'm glad. Maybe you and I can get a chance to talk after dinner about your military service," Michael suggested and Hawke smirked a little bit. He figured he knew what Michael was up to and he fully approved of it as long as Sinjin wanted to do it.

"In what way?" Sinjin asked curiously.

"A potential job when you are ready, we can discuss it more later," Michael told him and Doc just grinned from his spot at the bar as he took a drink of the wine that Hawke had poured him. Michael had made a similar offer to him but he and Maxine wanted to remain at Crystal Lake running the Inn. He was considering taking more medical courses maybe to live up to his nickname a little more.

Dom and Cait came out of the kitchen to join them each with a glass of tea. "Almost all done, you guys can set the table with Marella and Max. Dom and I will put all the dishes here on the bar for you to take out," Caitlin told them and they all agreed. Sinjin said he was going to get the kids and get them washed up for dinner.

When they got everything on the table, Hawke thought it was good they'd built such a big table and so sturdy a table now. The turkey and Cait's southern dressing was joined by a platter with a beautiful stuffed and smoked salmon. There were mashed potatoes, a cranberry salad that Dom had made, rice that Tracy brought along with several side dishes of various vegetables and both rolls and savory biscuits. Desserts from pumpkin pie and cookies to a cherry cheesecake that Marella had made. It was more than enough to feed the guests with left overs to send home with them too.

Sinjin looked at the table for a few minutes before he sat down. This was more food than he'd seen in one place in many, many years. "If I don't gain some weight after today something is seriously wrong," Sinjin quipped and Dom laughed and patted him on the shoulder as they took their seats.

Hawke stood at the head of the table, carving the turkey and handing out slices to everyone as they passed their plates along. Jameson was in a cradle beside the table near Cait's chair and was fast asleep after his playtime with the kids and Tracy.

Once everyone had finished filling their plates, Hawke picked up his wine glass. "I'd like to say thank you to everyone here at this table. All of you have made this last year incredibly special to me. I am grateful to have each and every one of you in my life. I could not be more thankful for the life I've been blessed with this year from Emily, Le and Jameson coming into our lives to marrying Cait, seeing Doc and Max get married, Michael and Marella finally getting together and of course, bringing Sinjin home. Tracy I'd like to thank you for all the help you've been to our family and Dom, I wouldn't even be here now without your support. So, Happy Thanksgiving and here is to many more of them!"

"To many more!" everyone said together as they lifted their glasses as well.

The End – For now.

This was a year in the life of Stringfellow Hawke, from the time before Hawke left for DC at the beginning of the story to the next Thanksgiving. There will be additional tie in stories later to finish fleshing out questions left from this one but at over 30 chapters I figured it was time to end this one on a happy note.


End file.
